Honour Bound
by atomicvegemite
Summary: Not sure whether to blame it on the chickens or the dragon, a Nord farmer finds herself in an entirely new country with nothing to her name. When a panic attack is mistaken for bravery, Thaylen finds herself caught up in the so called 'battle and glory lifestyle' that the Companions swear by. The cowards been let out of the bag, only to find herself among the wolves. (Discontinued)
1. Bloody chickens

It had not in hindsight, been a good idea to chase the chickens.

Chasing chickens got you lost, captured by a bunch of Imperial guards, very nearly be-headed and ultimately ruins your day.

Yes, it had not been the best move on her part but Thaylen had little time for such regrets, especially when she may have precious little time left to live.

Feet hitting the ground like pistons, breath rising raggedly in her throat the nord woman awkwardly dodged an explosion of splinters and rubble. Her hands were tightly bound in front of her, making movement difficult. The small hold of Helgen was currently occupied by scores of screaming people, about a dozen beleaguered soldiers and a smattering of escaped rebels. .

Oh, and one very scary, _very_ pissed off, dragon.

The crackling roar of flames filled her ears as Thaylen skirted around the piles of dead bodies, seeking something or someone that could undo her bonds. It had started out a perfectly normal day; she'd woken up at the crack of dawn, had breakfast and started her daily chores on the farm back in Cyrodill. Things had gone belly up when the chickens appeared.

The feathery buggers had it in for her, she was sure of it, eating her crops, waking her up with their raucous cawing and other bird like activities. Today, they'd topped it all off by getting her captured. One thing she'd not been expecting was for a mailed gauntlet to haul her by the scruff of the neck into a wagon stuffed full of rebels.

A short cart ride later and Thaylen had found herself on and eventually off the chopping block. Courtesy of one bloody huge reptile that seemed to appear out of thin air. She scrambled over fallen masonry and ducked into a half collapsed keep. Breezing past a bunch of men in blue uniforms, she climbed the steps two at a time. She'd never known that she could move this fast. There was a blackened scorch mark on the ground and gaping hole in the wall. Not wanting to think of the poor sod who'd copped the brunt of the flames Thaylen bunched her legs up and leapt into the small house that lay in the keeps shade.

She landed on her side and lay winded for a moment before a roar from above galvanised her into action. Downstairs she found exactly what she needed, a steak knife lying on the kitchen table. With some difficulty she managed to sit down on the floor and wedge the weapon between her legs. In a few tense seconds, she had the bindings off and was scurrying out the back door, knife in hand.

Thaylen crept through the thick layer of smoke that blanketed the ruined city, seeking escape. She succeeded in finding a hole in the wall and skittered over the fallen masonry before racing to the forest line. The charred remains of Helgen slowly dwindled into the distance.

She never looked back.

* * *

><p>The branch swung back and hit her in the face.<p>

"Mph, crap!" she screeched, holding her hand to her cheek.

She shot the offending tree a wary glare before pushing through the forest. All of Thaylen's pride would not let her admit to herself that she was lost. She'd decided to keep off the main path, not wanting to run into any more Imperial soldiers but after traversing a large loop to avoid a slumbering bear, she had lost the path. So she'd continued on, hoping to at least find a hunting trail, but her frantic search had yielded nothing but more trees. Glancing up, she saw the sun beginning to dip under the tree tops and her stomach swooped.

She needed shelter fast before the wolves, or worse, descended. She didn't bother gathering wood for a fire; it would only attract unwanted attention. Wiping sweat from her face, and cursing as she brushed her already swollen cheek, the exhausted Nord trekked through the forest, seeking a place to sleep.

The sky was dark by the time she found a decent sized overhang. She let her green eyes rake the forest once more before huddling up against the back of the rock wall. Fingers clutched around the hilt of the knife, she brought her knees up to her chin and fixed her eyes on a gap between the trees, watching the stars as the night closed in.

Her dreams were drowned in screams and wreathed in smoke.

* * *

><p>She woke to a snarl.<p>

Thaylen's eyes flew open and assessed her immediate surroundings. The forest stared back, silent and foreboding. She stumbled out from the overhang, sure to keep the wall at her back. She stood there, body tensed and alert, searching for the sounds origin. Adrenaline born from fear coursed through her veins. It heightened her senses. It was those senses that saved her.

First, her ears as the grass rustled and branches snapped. Next, her reflexes as she whirled to the right and brought her knife up in a feeble attempt at defending herself. Finally, her eyes as they beheld the sight of a charging mass of black fur and yellow fangs.

Maw agape, it launched itself at her, knocking the breath form her lungs and sending both of them sprawling to the ground. There was a wet tearing sound and intense pain flared up her arm. She opened her eyes and found herself staring straight into the wolves. She watched as something in its feral amber depths fade and its dead body slumped against hers.

Her arm felt hot and…slobbery and Thaylen realised with disgust that it was lodged in the beast's jaws, the knife thrust through the back of its skull. She pushed the wolf off her body and beheld her arm with horror. Gore and blood from both herself and the wolf splattered her arm.

The adrenaline left her body and she began to shake. There were puncture wounds in her forearm and her shoulder felt like it had been run over by a horse. The wolf had left a present for her, one curved incisor lodged in her limb. Gripping the tooth, she fought the bile that rose in her throat and yanked it out, giving a garbled shriek as she did. She trembled as she rose to her feet.

She nearly gave up then, mind clouded with despair, she wondered if she would ever make it out of these damned trees alive. She ripped a length of cloth from the bottom of her grubby shirt that she'd been wearing since tending to her farm and formed a makeshift bandage. Ripping the knife from the dead wolf and holding it in her left hand this time Thaylen made up her mind. She would get out of these trees and to civilisation or die trying.

* * *

><p>She just hoped it wouldn't be the latter.<p>

"Finally!" the word slipped from her lips as the woman broke out from the forest.

She could see a bunch of ramshackle farm houses and breweries to her right and further on in the distance the walls of a great city. Hysterical laughter bubbled in her throat but was quickly drowned as she felt a disturbance in the ground.

The black haired nord looked around, searching for the sound. There it was again, a slight tremor that shook the ground beneath her. Small rocks began to shake and jump, causing Thaylen to back out onto the open plain. The tremors shook her legs and she realised them for what they were: footsteps.

The trees parted and there it stood. A giant, fourteen feet of towering muscle and rage, holding a club easily as big as the woman that it glared down at. Thaylen gulped, backing up a few metres wondering if the thing was going to attack. She found out three seconds later as it opened its mouth and yelled some sort of garbled language at her. Hefting its club from its shoulders, it prepared to crush the life from the puny being standing in front of it. It was then that Thaylen noticed the arrows sticking from its shoulders. _Great, shed' just run onto a pissed of giant that someone's been hunting._

_Best day EVER._

Without a backwards glance Thaylen took to her heels and ran.

* * *

><p><strong>A.N: Right, considering that this authors note is being written as I'm writing out the tenth chapter I can certainly tell you that It gets better than this :L A lot longer too. Basically it's an OC story revolving around a woman who was, like the dragonborn, similarly caught in the crossfire between the imperials and the stormcloaks. However, Thaylen is by no means the actual dragonborn, that's one of my friends OC who will be popping in and out of the story. I'd also like to stress that this isn't your average 'OC falls in love with the main interest in the first ten chapters' fic, Thaylen is no warrior and will clearly struggle in this world :)<strong>

**So please enjoy ^^ And press the review button :)**


	2. Bloody giants

The midday sun beat down on the back of her neck as Thaylen sprinted across the hills that surrounded the walled city. She glanced back over her shoulder.

"Shit!" She pitched herself forwards in an undignified roll down the slope. Seconds later a boulder the size of a small horse flew overhead, crunching into the ground only a few feet away.

Thaylen picked herself up, grimacing in pain and cradling her injured arm awkwardly, using her left to wipe blood from her swollen cheek. She spat blood and ran on.

_This was just wonderful, why oh why had she decided it had been a good idea to chase the bloody chickens? Ever since she'd crossed the border into this godforsaken country she'd been plagued with bad luck. Soldiers, dragons, wolves, BLOODY GIANTS, everything seemed to be out for her blood._ Her breath was ragged, catching in her throat; she couldn't keep this up for long.

_She wasn't even much of a threat really._

The nord looked over her shoulder again and hope kindled in her chest. There, running a short distance behind the giant were three figures. _The hunters_, she thought. Yet the giant was so close, she was still screwed. Panic bubbled in her chest, the rational part of her brain seemed to give up and instinct took over. Her legs switched direction, pulling her around and running towards the giant. At this point Thaylen gave up on thinking.

She climbed back up the knoll and got a clear look at the hunters. She could make out a burly man and two women. The man yelled something at her but his voice was lost in the wind. As she watched, one of the women unslung a bow and began to notch an arrow. She flexed her fingers around the handle of her knife and bulled forward, closer to the giant.

"_What the hell are you doing?"_ Now she could hear the man, his voice was deep and scary, unfortunately not scary enough to stop her.

Thaylen raced between the giants legs, praying that the woman's arrow would hit its target in time. She reminded herself not to look up, and lashed out with the knife. It lodged into the back of the giant's kneecap and was wrenched from her grasp as she dodged out from underneath the towering creature. It howled in fury and hefted its club, about to crush her when the hunter's arrow thudded into its shoulder, impeding its strike.

Satisfaction seeped through her veins, calming her down some. Letting out hysterical laugh she retreated quickly, keeping the giant in her sights as it turned its attention to the hunters. She watched as the second woman unsheathed a sword and began stabbing at the things legs while the other continued to snipe from a distance.

The giant was visibly flustered; most of its attacks were easily evaded by its much smaller opponents. Thaylen's attention was then captured by the man. The hilt of a great sword poked over his back and from the muscles on him, Thaylen had no doubts that he could wield it. She backed up faster still, _holy shit, he was huge_.

"You, watch out!" he cautioned.

Thaylen had about a second to wonder what on earth he was talking about before she tripped over the log. She had time enough for a thought of _ah shit_, before her head bashed against the ground and the black tides claimed her mind.

* * *

><p>She woke to the clucking of chickens. Sighing, the nord got out of her bed and opened the window. <em>If those buggers have eaten her turnip seeds again- . <em>She leant out of the window, spying the chickens that were pecking at the ground.

"OI, PISS OFF!" she watched with a self-satisfactory grin as the birds fluttered off. She observed the crops and nodded to herself before noticing a rather critical element.

_Her farm didn't grow leeks._

_Her window faced the west not the south, and unless the nearest city to her had moved about two hundred yards closer overnight then this sure as hell wasn't her farm._

She turned away from the window and scoped out the room that she was in. A small bed, wardrobe and a bedside table that had a familiar looking knife sitting on it was all that filled the room. Picking up the knife, she picked at the hilt as everything came rushing back.

Escaping Helgen, the dragon, the wolf, the giant… THE GIANT!

"Finally awake I see." The voice came from behind her.

She gripped the knife and whirled to face the door. It was then that she realised that her arm was healed completely. There were four puckered scars left from the wolf's teeth and raising her hand to her left cheek, she felt a raised scar there too.

"Yeh healed up good girl." Thaylen looked up, her eyes resting on a haggard looking man who was leaning on the door frame.

"Did you do this?" she asked.

"I dressed your wounds with this, so I suppose so," he threw a red bottle to the woman; she caught it clumsily, having to switch her knife to her left hand.

She turned the bottle over in her hands, reading the label aloud.

"Healing potion? Gods! You didn't waste this on me did you? These things cost a heap!"

"Don't fret girl, the ones who brought yeh to me left it. There was three of em' all warrior types, said they was part of the Companions." he nodded out the window. Thaylen followed his gaze.

"Where am I?" she stared at the walls of the city.

"Why, you're in Whiterun hold, surely you knew that?" the man was surprised.

"I'm new to the area." Thaylen mumbled, the man snorted.

"There's clothes in that chest if you want them. The Companions said that they were expecting you up at Jorrvaskr," he paused at her confused look, "It's in the city, can't miss the place."

With that, he left her, mumbling something under his breath. Thaylen sighed and opened the chest he'd pointed out. Leather breeches and a new shirt, there was even a small sheathe in which she could fit her knife. She put on the clothes and strapped the sheathe to her right thigh but kept her own boots. She made a vain attempt to fix her hair then gave up and pulled it back into its usual ponytail. Before leaving, she looked out the window to Whiterun, wondering what she might find within its great walls.

* * *

><p>"Halt kinsmen! Whiterun isn't accepting visitors when there are dragons about." the guard glowered down at Thaylen, who sighed in exasperation.<p>

"Well how the bloody hell am I supposed to answer to the Companions?" she'd muttered it under her breath but he heard it anyway.

"The Companions have summoned you?"

She nodded and the guard exchanged a glance with his comrade.

"Welcome to Whiterun stranger."

Thaylen nodded her thanks and opened the gate.

She was greeted with the hustle and bustle of a city at midday. People of varied races went about their daily business, transporting goods, hocking wares and visiting friends and relatives alike. Guards roamed the streets, keeping an eye out for pickpockets and rabble. _So many people_, she felt lost and unsure of herself.

A pair of imperials passed her by, chatting about everyday rumours. Thaylen followed what looked like a main path; the noise of the city cloyed the air. A blacksmiths hammer offset by the preaching of a man that drifted down from the upper suburbs. She trekked up some steps, still in awe of Whiterun and all its glory.

Turning around, she ran straight into the solid chest of a guard and apologised profusely, "Sorry, sorry, oh gods… say, you wouldn't happen to know the way to Jorrvaskr?" the guard gladly complied and she soon found herself standing outside the mead hall.

The nord gazed up at its mighty timber frame and felt the nerves kick in. _Why did they want her here anyway? Maybe I should leave, find my way back home. _However, she knew that idea was doomed to fail; there was no way she could find her way back home. Her best bet was to see what happened in Jorrvaskr

So, before she could change her mind she lifted her hand and rapped her knuckles on the door twice, before opening it and stepping inside.

* * *

><p><strong>A.N <strong>

**You might notice that I've tweaked the plot points quite a fair bit, this is because I wanted Skyrim to be a more harsh and unforgiving environment (if that's even possible). So this story will eventually feature the Companions, I can't wait to write for them :) There may be some romance between Vilkas and Thaylen. And when I say may I mean most likely. **

**Hope you enjoyed It! Reviews are very much appreciated! **

**EDIT 05/06: OK I realise that I didn't explain much about the healing potions. In this Skyrim world they're a luxury, only for the rich or those with the means to make them. Unlike in the game, Thaylen won't be finding any lying around on the ground. However, they do heal almost anything.**


	3. Bloody decisions

Thaylen was assaulted with a blast of heat and the heady smell of alcohol and roasting meat.

She stood in the doorway as her eyes adjusted to the lighting of what seemed to be a dining hall. When she could see again, she realised how ridiculous she must look to the warriors that were seated at the table. Feet pointed inwards, one arm shielding her eyes from the bright fire pit and the other holding the door open.

She coughed awkwardly and let the door close behind her, at which most of the people turned back to whatever they had been doing prior to her entrance. Thaylen glanced around warily at the few who were still staring, seeking the hunters from the other day.

There was a dark elf that looked at her with suspicion in his red eyes, a brown haired nord man who looked vaguely similar to the scary hunter only thinner, and there, sitting next to him was said scary hunter. His face split into a large grin and gave her a wave, beckoning her over.

Thaylen couldn't stop the nerves from rising as she skirted the fire pit and approached the man. _Oh geeze, he looks like he could pick me up in one hand and snap my neck like a toothpick. _The man sitting next to him didn't look much better; if looks of distrust could kill Thaylen would be packed up in a coffin and halfway to Cyrodill by now. She gave the big man an uncertain smile as she arrived, he returned it but that did little to quench her nerves.

"Vilkas, this is the one me and Aela were talking about." There was that gravelly voice again. She noticed that apart from their build the two had very similar features, brown hair and piercing blue eyes that were ringed with black war paint.

"Ah, the giant slayer I presume?" the sarcasm did little to disguise Vilkas's obvious distrust of the woman standing in front of him._ Arse_ she thought, giving him a polite smile.

"Oh I didn't kill the bastard; just uh, hindered it."

All she got from that was another deadpan stare.

"Eh, anyway, I wanted to thank you," she turned to the hunter "for saving my life the other day, I'm in your debt, warrior."

"There's no need for that, we just did what was expected, that's all."

She was surprised, a man his size would surely have an ego to match. _Gods knew it had held true for every man she'd met before._ However, this one seemed placid, almost embarrassed of her praise.

"My name is Farkas, this," he gestured to the man beside him "Is my brother, Vilkas." Thaylen noticed that Vilkas seemed irritated hat his brother was so willingly giving out information like that.

_This guy has serious trust issues._ She turned this revelation over in her head, _so they were brothers eh? Seemed legit. _The difference in their tone of voice interested her, while Farkas was deep and well, frightening, Vilkas had a pleasant accent, a smoother way of talking than his brother.

She snapped back to reality to see Farkas looking at her expectantly.

"Oh, er, the names Thaylen." She stammered.

"Sit," he said not unkindly as he pulled out the chair next to him.

She practically fell in it, not quite sure how to react to his friendliness "My shield siblings wanted to see you too, but they're out at the moment," she assumed he meant the two women, he turned in his seat to face her "why don't you tell us about yourself?"

Thaylen caught Vilkas rolling his eyes but noticed that he didn't leave the table, the sullen man seemed just as curious as his brother to know who she was. She gulped, not sure if she wanted to tell these men about herself just yet.

"Hang on for a second, who exactly are you guys?" she gestured to the mead hall they were sitting in, "and what is this place?" The brothers exchanged surprised looks.

"You don't know of the Companions? Of Jorrvaskr?" Vilkas was confused.

"I suppose you could say I haven't really had time to find a _tour guide_," she said drily "I'm not from Skyrim you see." _As if it wasn't obvious._

"I thought so; no sane person from Skyrim would try to take on a giant alone," She winced at the obvious scorn in his voice "unless they're part of the Companions."

His tone grew less rough as he began to explain to Thaylen the origins of the warrior guild. It was clearly a topic he was passionate about. Farkas seemed content to let his brother do the talking; Thaylen got the feeling that he preferred to observe rather than contribute to the conversation.

She felt herself zoning out about a quarter of the way through Vilkas's speech and instead observing the brothers discreetly. At least, she hoped it was discreetly.

_It seems that Vilkas is the intellectual, but Farkas is by no means stupid, seems he just prefers hitting things to talking to them. _She noted that both brothers had great swords strapped to their backs, _looks like Vilkas is no slouch when it comes to fighting either. _She scratched the side of her neck; _I'd rather face the wolf again than tangle with these two._

She found her gaze wandering around the hall, Vilkas's voice fading into the background as she focused on other things. From the interaction that she could see between them, it seemed that the members of the guild all got on well enough. She saw two women gossiping in a corner and an older lady reading on a bench accompanied by a bawdy man with a bottle of mead in one hand.

She was distracted by a meaningful cough and turned back to see Vilkas giving her that deadpan stare again.

"You weren't listening were you?" again, with the sarcasm.

"What, oh uh yes…" _holy crap if he frowns any harder his eyebrows are going to fall off, _"no."

Vilkas gave a disparaging snort.

"Don't worry, neither was my _brother_." He jabbed an elbow into Farkas's side and the man flinched and looked around guiltily.

"In my defence, brother, I've been lectured about this a thousand times from Vignar not to mention hearing it from your gob every other day." He laughed and gave his brother a grin, to which Vilkas replied in kind, adding a playful punch to his brother's shoulder.

Thaylen nearly fell off her chair. _He __**smiled**__, CRIPES. I didn't think he'd have the muscles programmed to do that. _The thinner brother stood up to leave the table, nodding towards the door before leaving.

"There's Aela, Farkas weren't you waiting for her?"

He clapped his brother's shoulder with one hand before leaving_. _Thaylen turned to observe the woman as she made her way over to them. Tall, red hair, war paint in the image of claw marks and armed to the teeth. She was like a warrior princess: beautiful but more likely to cut off your lips than kiss them.

Thaylen found herself radiating envy, if only she was more like this woman, then she'd have a chance at getting back home.

"Ah, Farkas, I presume this is our giant slayer?" Thaylen smiled and gave her name as a response, but on the inside, she was fuming. _Giant slayer? She'd barely scratched the thing! And the way they said it with a mixture of amusement and sarcasm, ERGH. _

"I assume you've told her about the Companions?" she asked Farkas. He coughed and scratched his head sheepishly.

"Well, Vilkas _started_ to, but…"

Aela groaned, "oh gods not again," she turned to Thaylen "sorry about Vilkas, he seems to have some inane ability for either scaring off or boring the hell out of visitors," she frowned "we're still not sure if he does it on purpose or not."

"I can see where you're coming from." Thaylen replied, grinning.

Aela laughed, "Good to see you know what humour is, few of the Companions do these days," she seated herself in Vilkas's abandoned chair. "Well, to put it shortly, the Companions are a group of mercenaries who do jobs for money. Be it recovering a lost relic or clearing out forts of bandits," she gestured around her "this is Jorrvaskr, a mead hall that was built around the Skyforge by the original Companions. There's plenty of history to go with it but you don't need to hear that now."

Thaylen was confused it seemed as though Aela was insinuating that she would be hanging around for a while. _I'm not even a proper warrior! I hope they're not expecting me to find lost relics and clear out caves full of friggin bandits. _She gulped, fingers beginning to drum a faltering staccato on her crossed legs.

"We were wondering if you would like to consider joining our ranks Thaylen, it's rare that you find people with courage such as yours these days." It was Aela that said it but Thaylen felt herself looking hopelessly at Farkas, the grin that was plastered on his face gave her no doubt that it had probably been his idea in the first place.

"Uh, gee thanks guys but," she gestured at herself "as you can see, I'm not exactly warrior material here. I mean sure I stabbed a giant in the leg and killed a wolf but I'm pretty sure that was all dumb luck." Aela and Farkas glanced at each other.

"Not being a warrior at the start doesn't matter, we will all be glad to help train you Thaylen, the Companions could use more people like you." Aela said.

"You must know that we aren't going to force you into something you don't want to do kinsmen," it was Farkas who spoke, his voice gentle "We'll leave you to decide on your own but be aware that the chance won't be offered twice." With that he and Aela stood up, giving her encouraging smiles before leaving her alone.

Thaylen looked around the dining hall, noticing that nearly everyone was gone. _It must be night. _The nord unsheathed her knife and inspected it, turning it over in her hands as she mulled over her options.

_These people seem nice enough but I just don't think I'll live up to what they're expecting. I've lived on a farm for most of my life, never seen much of the world. _She glanced at her arms; they weren't soft like the average maidens but toned from years of swinging the axe to shop wood. _At least I'm not fat _she thought wryly.

Even her slightness was a negative, the woman didn't have the necessary strength to lift a sword and shield. Axes were okay but she didn't look forward to the premise of lugging one around all day. However, when she considered the alternative option of trying to find her way home on her own, Thaylen began to warm at the idea of joining the guild.

_Getting money for fighting is a welcome change. _Fighting usually meant less money or maybe jail if the guards didn't like the look of you.

Thaylen leant forwards and leant her head on the table, her head ached from all the information she'd taken in. She picked at the table with her knife and having made her mind, she slammed it point first into the wood, where it stuck, handle quivering. _That's it then, I'll ask them to join tomorrow. _

With the warmth of the fire at her back and her arms acting as a cushion Thaylen didn't even realise that she'd fallen asleep.

* * *

><p><strong>A.N <strong>

**Third chapter is up! I'm on a roll :P Thank you for the reviews guys! They mean so much to me :) So finally we have interaction with the Companions, I hope you like how I've written them. **

**And no, the chickens will not be leaving Thaylen alone for some time yet.**

**Please enjoy and review! **

**EDIT 5/6: oh god, this chapter. Nothing much changed here, just spaced it out and fixed some punctuation.**

****cover image (c) the-lazy-artist on deviantart  
><strong>**


	4. Bloody Vilkas

A hand clamped down on her shoulder, making Thaylen wake with a start.

"Usually visitors do not destroy our table with their weapons, let alone drool all over them." _Oh great,_ _that voice could only belong to one person._ Thaylen rubbed her eyes to dispel the fuzz and get a clearer look at him.

"What? Oh, morning Vilkas." She blinked owlishly up at him.

He raised his eyebrows and plucked her knife from the table, dropping it on her lap before walking away.

"Keep your toys packed up in the future." She heard a door open and close and then she was alone again.

She let the insult pass; choosing instead to focus on how much her muscles _ached._ Sleeping in a chair was not the most comfortable method of resting. _Oh geeze, I'd almost prefer the wolf to this._

Thaylen stood up and cracked her back, sheathing her knife as she did so. She reflected that it could have been worse; at least he'd woken her up before everyone else came out for breakfast_. That would've been a great sight, me slobbering on their silverware_. It was however; quite clear that Vilkas did not particularly like her. Thaylen dreaded to think how he would react to her asking to join the Companions.

Unsure where she had to go, Thaylen chose to wander around the hall and wait until Aela or Farkas appeared. She was just inspecting a bowl of red apples that stood on a bench by the door when the voice called out.

"What do you think you're doing?" the woman jumped guiltily, turning around, an apple clutched in her hands.

She was faced with a stern looking older man who looked like he could best Vilkas in the' most sour expression' competition. He looked like another warrior type, but somehow more feral than Vilkas or his brother. _Wouldn't want to meet this bloke in a dark alleyway._

She didn't remember seeing him in the dining hall the other day and by the look on his face, he hadn't seen her either. She noticed that he was staring at the apple in her hands, so, grinning sheepishly, she slowly put it back in the bowl. His gaze followed her every move. When she was done, he advanced on her, hand on the pommel of his sword. _Oh shit._

"Who are you?" his expression seemed to be set in a permanent scowl.

Before she could answer, a voice cut across the room.

"Skjor, stop harassing the visitor"

Thaylen let out a sigh of relief, it was Aela. Skjor reluctantly stepped back, still eyeing her with distrust. _Yeesh, he's __**worse**__ than Vilkas._

"Who is she?" he asked.

"A potential new recruit," Aela replied "We call her Giant Slayer." _Oh for gods sake _if only they could keep a straight face as they said it, again Thaylen smiled on the outside but fumed within. Skjor shot her a doubtful look.

"I was expecting a warrior not a maiden." Thaylen winced, seems Skjor didn't believe in discretion. The man walked past Thaylen and, without saying a word to her, opened the door and left. The nord couldn't help feeling put out as she raised her eyebrows at Aela.

"Don't worry, he's always like that." The huntress dismissed the older warrior's behaviour with a wave of her hand. Thaylen grimaced_, seems Jorrvaskr is full of people who didn't take kindly to outsiders_; it was not a particularly encouraging thought.

"Anyway, I take it that you've agreed to our offer," Thaylen looked up confused as to how she knew, "Vilkas already told me he'd caught you sleeping; I assumed it meant you'd say yes." The huntress's mouth twitched in amusement, "He seems put out by your actions, It's not every day he wakes up to find someone snoring on the dining table."

"I do not snore!" Thaylen cried, indignant. Aela laughed.

"We'll see, that is, if Kodlak accepts you."

"Kodlak?"

Aela rolled her eyes, "Our current Harbinger, the man whom we all go to for advice and counsel, he will judge your worth and see if you are fit to become a Companion," she smiled down at Thaylen "If he accepts your offer, we should go hunting one day."

"Then I look forward to kicking arse with you in the future." That got her a smile.

"Kodlak's room is just down the hall, right at the end." Aela pointed in the direction and Thaylen set off to hopefully start her new life.

* * *

><p>"It seems we have an eavesdropper."<p>

Thaylen swallowed nervously. She hadn't meant to stay and listen to the heated conversation that had emanated from Kodlak's quarters but it had just sounded so _interesting._ She almost hadn't been surprised to hear Vilkas's voice when she'd arrived, instead focusing on the topic of their discussion. Something about the blood calling, Kodlak was searching for something and the Companions seemed divided over it.

The last thing Thaylen had expected to hear as she stood, ear pressed against the door, was someone calling her out. _My god they must have some kind of supernatural hearing. _

"Come in girl." Wait, how does he know I'm a-?

The door was opened by a less than pleased looking Vilkas. He eyed her, wondering how much she had heard. Thaylen tried her best to ignore his presence and instead looked towards the man who was seated at a small table in the corner of the room.

He was greying but still looked as though he could lift a battle axe a strange tattoo adorned his cheek. Thaylen felt her eyes drawn into his, comforted by the wisdom she saw there.

"So, who are you?" She'd been asked that question twice today, in two completely different tones of voice. Where Skjor was rough and distrusting, like Vilkas, Kodlak reminded her more of Farkas, with his patient words.

"I'm Thaylen, formerly of Cyrodill, now of, well…. I was kind of hoping you could help me with that."

"You wish to join? Hmmm come closer; let me have a look at you."

She walked past the solid block of hostility that was Vilkas and stood in front of the old man. He sized her up, noting the scars on her arm and face with what seemed like approval but he frowned at the knife strapped to her thigh. She dropped a hand to it protectively, as if to say '_hey this this fought off a wolf and a giant, don't be hating on it._'

Lastly his eyes bored into hers, in what seemed to be an intense blinking contest until finally he looked away, towards Vilkas.

"You cannot be serious," Vilkas's voice was back to deadpan, nothing like the animated tones she'd heard before, "You're considering accepting _her?" Oh wow, gee thanks Vilkas, spread the love around why don't you._

Kodlak nodded, "last time I checked there were plenty of empty beds in Jorrvaskr, I don't see the harm in it, she's got something in her eye this one does, we could use that." Elation began to fill Thaylen's stomach; this had been easier than she thought.

"You'll need training to help you reach your full potential," she nodded in agreement; training would help her not die, _which was important, "_And I know _exactly_ who will push you to your limits and help raise you to become a fearsome warrior, worthy of the title Companion."

It took both Thaylen and Vilkas a while to figure out what the old man was implying.

"WHAT?" Vilkas was outraged, "Surely you can't expect me to- you can't—I can't." he trailed off at the look Kodlak gave him. Thaylen was of a similar view.

"Uh, look there's got to be someone else, Aela maybe, Farkas, anyone?" But Kodlak was already shaking his head.

"Aela is too flighty to train anyone for a long period of time, Farkas will not be hard enough on you and no one else is experienced enough to take on the job," he turned to Vilkas "Training her will be good for you also Vilkas, you will learn much from this as well." Vilkas seemed resigned to his fate, Thaylen not so much, though she didn't dare question Kodlak's decision again.

"Go now, test her abilities today, I expect to hear word of your progress." The old man gave her a smile before she walked out, Vilkas closing the door behind them.

Her stomach was tying itself in knots; Vilkas was going to _slaughter_ her. How could she train with this man? He set off without a word, expecting her to follow and Thaylen cringed inwardly, _not off to a good start. _She followed him through the sleeping quarters, getting a few curious looks from their tenants. He swept out into the mead hall and she could practically _feel_ the black mood that he left behind.

They walked out a set of doors and outside into what looked like some sort of training ground. Stuffed practice dummies and wooden targets lined the stone walls of Whiterun.

"Right, it seems like we're stuck with each other for now, Kodlak said to test you today, so draw your weapon woman." She turned to see Vilkas shouldering a shield and sword and her stomach got worse.

_Oh crap, all I've got is the knife; surely he doesn't expect me to attack him with that._ She unsheathed her knife and was assailed with laughter.

"You're kidding me, that's truly all you've got?"

Thaylen grit her teeth, noticing that they had an audience, Skjor and Farkas grinned from the sidelines. _This couldn't get any more humiliating._

_Wrong_, her brain told her, almost lazily, as her feet were hooked from underneath her by Vilkas's sword. She landed on her back in a tumble of limbs, before scrambling to her feet.

"What kind of warrior takes her eyes off the opponent?" Skjor and Farkas where laughing now.

Thaylen growled under her breath and tightened her grip on the knife before rushing forward, bringing her arm up and across in a slashing manoeuvre…which was promptly batted away by Vilkas's sword. She couldn't help but notice that, while his sword was dull and blunted, he had left her knife as sharp as she'd found it.

_He mustn't be expecting me to hit him _she realised. It was a disheartening thought but it also served to make her angry. She flinched backwards as Vilkas jabbed forwards with his shield, hitting her square in the forehead with a solid _thunk_.

"_Ow shit!"_ As she reeled backwards, stars exploding in her vision, he twisted his leg between hers and flipped her on her back _again._ She gasped for air, struggling to her feet once more. Vilkas was staring at her, not even bothering to gloat, just looking plain unimpressed. _This is not my best first impression._

She spat dirt from her mouth before charging towards him, this time trying a feint to the left and then swinging her blade around to the right. Vilkas fended off both attempts, never missing a stroke. Thaylen's mind was screaming abuse at the man for the calm way he handled _everything._

Back in Cyrodill, some of the town guards had given the farmers brief lessons on attacking and defending, just in case they got mobbed by bandits in the night. But the lessons had been frugal, nothing but the basics of stabbing and parrying, so Thaylen soon found herself completely at Vilkas's mercy, unable to touch him.

She tried every trick in her arsenal but all the feinting, ducking and weaving did nothing to break through Vilkas's defences. He was as slippery as a weasel and he hit back harder than a sledgehammer.

After about thirty minutes of her paltry attempts at attacking him, most of which ended with Thaylen flat on her back in the dirt, she fell upon her last resort, brute force. Throwing all caution to the wind, she bulled forwards gripping the knife with both hands and bringing it down in a hacking motion.

Teeth bared and eyes wild, Thaylen watched as Vilkas raised his shield in perfect timing and the blade stabbed into the wooden surface, before snapping completely in half with an ear piercing metallic ring_. _The handle stayed clenched in her hands, but a good part of the blade flicked back and would have taken out her eye if she hadn't jerked her head back, it instead inflicted a small gash on her brow. She stood there, completely exhausted, panting for breath and utterly at a loss for what to do. She was torn between running off and crying or picking up the shattered blade and having a good go at hacking Vilkas's head off his shoulders.

"You…broke…my…bloody…knife." she managed to wheeze out.

"No major loss." Vilkas shrugged, he replaced his shield on its rack but held his sword out to her, and she resisted the highly entertaining thought of spitting in his face. "Here, take my sword to Eorlund to get it sharpened." She stared at it incredulously until he shoved it in her face, "Up at the Skyforge stupid, and don't drop it it's probably worth more than you are."

She took it from him, aiming to yank it from his grip angrily but instead fumbling at the unexpected weight of the thing. He raised his eyebrows at her, "You should get that cut seen to, Tilma will laugh at that one, it's not often she gets to treat wounds caused by the owners own weapon." He gave a harsh laugh before walking away.

Thaylen considered her chances of spitting him on his own sword but dismissed the idea, he'd definitely find some way to block it. She looked down at her hands, they were dusty and red from her forced grip on the knife and welts covered her arms from Vilkas's less than gentle parry's and stabs. She sighed; it looked like she was in for a long couple of months. She noticed that Skjor and Farkas had left with her supposed 'mentor', _thanks for the sympathy guys._

She sighed in defeat, stashing her broken knife handle in its sheathe and picking up the broken blade, maybe this Eorlund guy could repair it. She raised a hand to wipe away the blood that was dripping in her eyes from her brow; _ugh I forgot how much head wounds bleed._ Thaylen began to trudge up the steps to the Skyforge, mentally cursing Vilkas with each one.

* * *

><p><strong>A.N: Ok, some interaction with Vilkas and Thaylen getting her arse handed to her. :L Hope you enjoy ^^<strong>

**Edit: Spaced it out some more, those clunky action paragraphs were annoying me **

****cover image (c) the-lazy-artist on deviantart  
><strong>**


	5. Bloody Wood Elves

"Ow, bugger!" Thaylen swore as she tripped up the last step to the Skyforge.

Vilkas's sword hanging by her side; she'd taken care to scrape it across the ground on the way up. She looked up wearily, brushing her black hair from her eyes.

The Skyforge deserved its name. Carved from the very stone of Whiterun the mighty forge roared with flames hot enough to raise a sweat on Thaylen's already damp face. Lumps of metal and ore were piled up in stacks around the blacksmiths station. Tools and weapons in varying stages of completion lay scattered around the workbenches.

Thaylen eyed the brighter than average steel appreciatively, she had an eye for shiny things. Her fingers were inches from a fearsome looking war axe before a gruff voice warned her off.

"Oi, paws off stranger."

She turned guiltily to see a man around Kodlak's age eyeing her suspiciously. _I would make the crappiest thief in all of Skyrim, _she reflected glumly.

"Sorry, are you Eorlund?" she asked.

"Yes, who's askin'?" _Does everyone here have trust issues?_

"I'm Thaylen, new recruit of the Companions…I think, Vilkas sent me up here to sharpen his sword." Eorlund looked her over, "I could hear you two sparring from up here," he noticed her bedraggled appearance, "Yeh got yeh arse handed to ya girl." _Tell me something I don't know._ She gave a noncommittal grunt.

"Here, let me see the sword." The blacksmith held out one calloused hand. Thaylen gladly surrendered it. Eorlund turned it over in his hands; testing the edge with a thumb as he gave a resigned sigh. "That boy couldn't take care of his sword to save his life," he gave it a few swings before taking it over to the grinder, "See, none of the Companions can work a forge, so I do it for em', It's good work for good people, I'm honoured to serve them."

_So he's not a Companion,_ she thought. He definitely knows his way around a forge, that's for sure.

"So, how did you find the Companions?" he raised his voice to be heard over the grindstone.

"You could say that they found me," She replied, "Does Vilkas always get newcomers to lug around his stuff?"

"Yeh'd best get used to it girl, you're a whelp in the eyes of the circle and will be treated as such until you've proven yourself, but in that saying, don't go lettin' em' push yeh around too much, you're yeh own person, don't go forgettin' that."

He stood up from the stone and handed Vilkas's sword back to her; she tested its edge and had to suck blood from her finger_. I hope Vilkas isn't going to use this to spar again. _

"Is that all girl?"

"Actually you might be able to help me," she fished her broken knife out of her tunic, "would you be able to fix this please?" He took it from her and snorted scornfully.

"Nothing could fix this girl," he watched her as her face fell "but, seeing as yeh look like a decent enough person, I may be able to forge a new blade for yeh."

"Really? Wow that'd be great, thank you so mu-"

"While you're here, would yeh mind doing me a favour?"_ Always with the strings attached. _

"Yeah, sure."

"Good, I've been working on a shield for Aela, could yeh pass it on to her for me?" he picked up a heavy shield; the sun glinted off its polished surface. Thaylen slung it across her back, shifting uncomfortably at the weight. Eorlund saw and snorted derisively.

"Yeh'll need to build up your muscles if you want to survive your training session's girl." Thaylen looked down at herself, true, she needed muscle if she wanted to heft anything bigger than her knife, and she gave a nod of agreement, too tired from her bout with Vilkas to say anything.

"I'll be seeing yeh girl, good luck." Eorlund dismissed her with a smile and a nod. Thaylen started to slug her way down the Skyforge steps. She was too busy concentrating on not dropping Vilkas's sword and so, was caught completely off guard as she thudded into someone who'd been skulking in the shadows caused by the setting sun. She paused for a second, trying to get a look at the shape in the shadows, from their small stature she deemed it safe to continue.

"Oi! Who're you?" she tried to sound intimidating like Farkas, but her voice sounded more like a squeak than a growl.

"None of your business." The female voice that came from the shadows had a rough accent, Thaylen couldn't pin it to anyone she knew.

"Then what do you think you're doing sneaking around here?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

Thaylen frowned, "I'm a member of the Companions."

"Hah? You, a Companion? Not bloody likely." Thaylen clenched her jaw,deciding that her quota of taking shit for the day was full; she stepped forwards to the shadow and shoved it roughly backwards, making her stumble backwards down the steps.

"Ow, son of a-! What was that for?"

Thaylen finally caught sight of her insulter, a wood elf, short for her race but lean and fit, not that different from Thaylen herself. Her eyes rested on the bow slung across the elves shoulders and an uneasy feeling grew in her stomach, Thaylen didn't like bows. The idea that she could be picked off from a distance didn't appeal to her.

_Why do I always piss off the dangerous looking ones? _As she examined the elf's face, Thaylen couldn't knock off the feeling that she'd seen it somewhere before. She racked her brains, trying to remember but all she could see was the monstrous dragon that attacked Helgen.

"I don't like it when I can't see the person I'm talking to, now," she levelled Vilkas's sword with the wood elves face, trying not to let it shake and failing miserably, "Who are you and what are you doing here?" The elf looked unimpressed at her false show of bravado, using a hand to swipe her sword aside almost lazily, so Thaylen let the curtain fall on that one.

"Oh come on, give me a break and just answer the question, please?" she let the sword fall to her side as the elf stared at her, nonplussed. She sighed, too tired to bother anymore "Never mind, if you're interested, I'm Thaylen, current butt monkey of the Companions. If you're looking to join, stay away from the man called Vilkas, the guys a bit of an arse." She made to continue on her way but was stopped by the elf.

"Wait, the names Dene, I'm lost." Dene had an abrupt way of talking, like she didn't want to waste her breath on words.

"Yeah? So?" Thaylen wouldn't normally be so sullen to someone she'd just met but her patience was running out fast. A frustrated look crossed Dene's face.

"Some directions would be appreciated," the elf woman certainly looked out of place in the city, "to Dragonsreach."

"You mean the big castle up there?" Thaylen pointed past the Skyforge, to where Dragonsreach sat in the highest position in Whiterun. Dene coughed awkwardly, turning her head to the side.

"Right, I knew that." And then it hit Thaylen.

"Hang on, I know you!" she cried, Dene looked at her, suspicion sparking in her gaze, "no wait, I mean I've seen you before! At Helgen, the dragon attack, your hair…" she trailed off despite the disturbed look the wood elf was giving her.

Thaylen distinctly remembered that hair and from that same position too. In the cart she'd had restricted movement so all Thaylen had seen of the only elf that'd been captured was her rich brown locks. Of course only Thaylen would stop in the middle of an ambush to envy another woman's hair. Now it was the nord's turn to cough awkwardly.

"I mean…your ears." The elf woman's annoyed look twisted into a smirk and her eyes lit with recognition.

"Yes, I remember you," Her tone was short, "How in Tamriel did _you_ escape?" Thaylen felt insulted by the elves obvious doubt in her survival skills.

"I got out through a hole in the battlements; it took me two days to get to Whiterun."

"Two days? What were you doing? Having a pleasure walk?" the elves voice was incredulous.

"What? No! I went through the woods, how did you get here then?"

"I took the path from Riverwood." Dene tone of voice told Thaylen that it was the obvious choice.  
>Thaylen felt like either strangling the elf or laughing at her own stupidity. <em>Bloody hell, I could've avoided the wolf… aw bugger it, I'm here now.<em>

"Yeah well, shut up," The insult was weak but Thaylen didn't have the time for it, "well I have to go, things to do, drop by if you need any more _directions_." All she got by way of reply was a grunt. Thaylen left Dene doubting that she'd ever see her again. The sun had fully set by the time she entered Jorrvaskr.

* * *

><p>Thaylen inhaled appreciatively as the smell of cooking meat assailed her nostrils. A goat was roasting over the great fire pit in the middle of the dining hall, bread and vegetables where stacked up on the table. Her stomach grumbled in anticipation and Thaylen could almost have forgotten about her tiring day.<em> If the food is always this good I'd gladly train with Vilkas. <em>

She walked past a steaming apple pie and almost lost the will to move. _In fact, I'd even train with Skjor. _She looked back regretfully as she passed the lavish spread, she had things to deliver. She caught sight of Vilkas sitting with a dark elf whose name she hadn't yet caught and decided that she didn't want to be humiliated again so soon. Instead, she made her way over to where Aela was sitting with Skjor, giving them both a smile before pulling the shield from her back.

"Aela, Eorlund said to give this to you."

"Ah! My shield," she examined it closely her eyes gleaming appreciatively, "that man never ceases to amaze me with the work he pulls off, brilliant, can't wait to crack some skulls with this, thank him for me will you?" Thaylen nodded.

"Speaking of cracking skulls, from what Skjor was telling me earlier Vilkas made quite a spectacle out of you today," she seemed amused, "it's a pity I missed it."

Thaylen shot a glare to the dining table where Vilkas was sitting.

"Watch it Aela, I wouldn't want to be the one to push her off the edge, you should've seen it, she hit Vilkas's shield so hard her blade snapped in half!" Skjor laughed and pointed to the wound on Thaylen's forehead, "That's what she's got to show for it."

Thaylen grimaced and touched the slash self-consciously; the blood seemed to have dried for now.

"But I you know what I think was impressive?" Skjor was speaking again- _wait what? Was he about to compliment her? No way, "_is that you never gave up, true the way you were fighting you would've been dead within seconds but still, you didn't stop throwing yourself at him until your knife snapped," he gave her a smile, "stubbornness is always handy when dealing with Vilkas, you'll need that if you want to survive his training regime."

Thaylen cringed inwardly, not wanting to think about Vilkas's training right now.

"Well, um, thanks," she glanced over to Vilkas again, the dark elf had been replaced by his brother, so she judged it safe enough to approach, "if you'll excuse me, I've gotta give something to Vilkas."

Aela eyed the sword in her hand, "Try not to stab him will you? He's important."

Thaylen laughed but made no promises.

She crossed the room and approached the twins. While walking she noticed that though at first glance the two seemed alike in looks, they were in fact far different from one another. Where Farkas had a more filled out face, Vilkas was leaner, Farkas's eyes smiled at you, while his brothers looked like they could pin you to a wall and take your money. Farkas had the muscled build of a henchman but his brother looked like he belonged in the Imperial Legion. In fact, the only similarities the two had, was their hair and eye colour. The two were opposites, red and blue, positive and negative, the goon and the mastermind-

"Thaylen!" Vilkas's sharp bark brought her back down to earth. She was standing slightly to the side of the two and must've been staring directly at them from the strange looks they were giving her.

She cleared her throat, aiming to lean one hand on the table nonchalantly, but instead nearly plunging her hand into a water pitcher. Farkas laughed, "Maybe you should just sit down."

She took the empty seat that regrettably sat her next to Vilkas, he shifted slightly in his seat and Thaylen wondered what she'd done to make this man hate her so, but he was only soaking what looked like a rag in water from the pitcher she'd nearly tipped over.

"Here, clean your face, you look like a child that's come in from playing in a mud pit." He handed the rag to her and she snatched it from him before swiping across forehead, making a face as she examined the amount of dirt and blood that came off on it. Remembering what she'd come to do, she handed Vilkas's sword to him before cleaning the rest of her face.

"Here, it's sharpened." She kept her words short but soon realised how childish she was being. She watched as Vilkas tested its edge but didn't have any words left in her to talk to him. Wiping the cloth across her face several more times, Thaylen hissed as she touched her cut, getting an annoyed look from Vilkas.

"I told you to get that seen to whelp."

"I was kinda busy doing things _you_ asked me to." She pointed out.

"Still, get Tilma to clean it or I'll do it myself." Thaylen blanched at the thought of Vilkas patching up her wound. More members were beginning to seat themselves and Thaylen's stomach growled; she hadn't had a proper meal since Helgen. Hoping that Vilkas hadn't heard she steeled her nerves for the question that she'd been dreading to hear the answer to.

"So, how was I?" He looked up from where he'd been cutting a bread roll in half.

"Today?" he laughed, "It's going to be a hard couple of months for you," he handed her half of the roll and she picked at it non-committedly, "maybe even years." He added.

"Years?" her heart plummeted to somewhere around her toes, "gods." _Years of training with Vilkas? I'm so screwed. _

"Yes, years," he turned to her, face serious, "You need to put all of your heart and mind towards training," he gestured around the table "each and every one of us have been taught to fight since our earliest years, we need to catch up on your lost time as fast as possible," Thaylen took small bites from her bread, "it will be hard."

Vilkas said bluntly and Thaylen smiled inwardly, _at least he doesn't sugar coat it. _People where starting to get food, carving pieces of meat from the goat. Vilkas made to get up and fill his plate but she reached out and tugged on his arm, stopping him in his tracks.

"Do you think I'll make it?" she looked up at him, wanting the truth. Vilkas considered her for a while before answering. His eyes bored into hers and for the first time, Thaylen didn't flinch away, approval laced his gaze

"Yes." the corner of his mouth twitched up in what might have been a smile.

And, later that night as Thaylen collapsed into a bed that Farkas had said wasn't being used; she swore that it had been one.

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><p><strong>A.N Ok, new stuff happening in this chapter, I was debating for quite a while over whether to make. So, Dene is Dropbear's dragonborn OC, and she'll hopefully be posting her story up here soon. Dropbear's gonna follow the main questline, and Thaylen the Companions, we'll be intertwining our stories every so often, so yeah :)<strong>

**Enjoy! And all reviews are appreciated!**

**Athos-aramis- heh, yeah I thought the way that you hit Vilkas like once in the game and are instantly branded 'almighty warrior' was kinda out of place in this story, thanks for all the reviews again! :)**

**Serah-wiggums- glad to know you enjoy the story**

**cover image (c) the-lazy-artist on deviantart  
><strong>


	6. Bloody Brawls

The chickens had set her on edge, Thaylen thought glumly as she was marched through the streets of Whiterun by a less than pleased guard. _Little bastards always get me in deep shit,_ she sighed to herself. She was not looking forward to facing Vilkas after this.

* * *

><p><em>Earlier that day<em>

Thaylen had got a bad feeling about this the minute she'd stepped onto the farm and seen the chickens trundling around on the ground.

She'd been with the Companions for a full week. Seven days full of early mornings and late nights, the hours of which where filled with her training regime. And oh, what a regime it was. The first day Vilkas had literally dragged her by the scruff of the neck from her bed to the training ground. She remembered that morning bitterly, her muscles had been jelly from the pounding they took the day before. Vilkas had taken one look at her shaking limbs and commanded she run a full lap of Whiterun to 'calm her nerves'.

Fat lot of help that had done, she'd returned in worse shape than she'd left and had suffered for it. The rest of the day had consisted of Vilkas putting her through all sorts of stretches and positions, trying to figure out what weapon to train her with, and had ended with him tossing her a sword and giving her a whole new load of bruises to complain about.

The whole week had played out like that, an endless wave of swinging all manner of blades. And all that Vilkas had told her was that in no circumstances was she to _**ever**_ go near two handed weapons again. In the precious few hours that she wasn't having the crap beat out of her, she found herself talking to, out of all people, Skjor. Once you got to know him, the guy scowled a lot less and laughed a lot more and so, Thaylen had spent most evenings listening to his tales of past battles, lost and won, but mostly won.

When Farkas had asked her to do a job for him Thaylen had been thinking more upon the lines of ' go here and fetch me something' rather than 'scare the shit out of someone so as they stop being annoying'. But she'd agreed anyway, anything to get away from Vilkas for a while.

She'd been sent to Pelagia farm to accost a Bosmer by the name of Nimriel. Farkas had been light on the details, merely telling Thaylen to rough the wood elf up and try not to kill her. _No problems on that front,_ she had thought as she watched Nimriel tend to her farm. The Elf was at least a head taller than the Nord.

"Uh…can I talk with you for a second?" she called out over the small fence that separated the farm from the road, but the elf continued to rake at the ground, ignoring her question. Thaylen tried again.

"Excuse me, I've been sent here by the Companions to clear up some stuff…" she trailed off at the look she received. Nimriel dropped her rake to the ground before advancing aggressively. Thaylen instinctively backed up.

"The Companions sent _you_?" her voice was thick with disdain, reminding Thaylen of another wood elf she'd met lately.

"Yes, me." Thaylen began to get ticked off; a stray chicken had paused in its foraging to stare at her with those goddamned beady eyes. The nord glared right back at it, resulting in a perturbed look from Nimriel.

"Well you ain't getting no apologies from me milk drinker," Nimriel snorted, "tell them to send someone more _up to the task _next time." She turned her back to Thaylen, her first mistake.

"Come on, can't we just sort this out?" Nimriel ignored her pleas, second mistake. The black haired woman sighed and prepared to slog it back up to Whiterun, make her excuses to Farkas and find somewhere to hide from Vilkas. The Elf's soft voice stopped her in her tracks.

"That's right, run away, _chicken." _

Chicken, _chicken, __**CHICKEN?!**_ Thaylen was over the fence in an instant, fist flying into the wood elf's face. Nimriel staggered backwards and Thaylen was on her again, fingernails scratching at her ratty little eyes. The Bosmer went red with rage and began to give back as good as she got. The pair of women was soon rolling around in the dust, a flurry of punches and unsavoury insults. Thaylen somehow managed to lock Nimriel in a choke hold and they struggled in silence until a shadow fell over them.

"What is the meaning of this?" the gruff voice made them both freeze and look up guiltily. A guard was looming over them, arms crossed, with a more than displeased expression on his face.

Thaylen released Nimriel immediately and they both scrambled to their feet, bruised and dusty. She could feel blood run from a split on her lip; the farmer hadn't fared much better, with a cut just above her eye. The nord opened her mouth to explain but the wood elf beat her to it.

"I was just minding my own business on my farm and then this savage attacks me!" she pointed to Thaylen accusingly, "she should be locked up!" Thaylen shifted her feet guiltily.

"Is what she says the truth, kinsmen?" the guard asked. Thaylen nodded miserably and the man scowled at her.

"The Jarl does not tolerate fighting among his citizens woman," he grabbed her by the shoulder, "you're coming with me." Thaylen let herself be dragged off, but not before making a threatening move towards Nimriel, and she had to choke back a laugh at the startled expression on the wood elf's face.

* * *

><p><em>Present<em>

Thaylen swallowed uneasily as the guard pushed her through the mighty oak doors of Dragonsreach. She hadn't thought that he would _actually _bother taking her to the Jarl.

She'd never set foot in Dragonsreach, preferring to keep away from important figures; if they somehow found out about Helgen then questions would be raised. Thaylen didn't particularly want to recount that experience with the dragon anytime soon.

She was greeted by a hall that was about ten times grander than Jorrvaskr's, tables piled high with all kinds of food and a roaring hearth in the centre. But what scared Thaylen the most was not Jarl Balgruuf, or his prickly Dunmer housecarl but rather the gigantic dragon skull that was hung on the wall behind them. The black holes of its eyes seemed to watch her every step, and Thaylen dropped her own to the floor, beginning to feel sick. One dragon had been enough.

"What have you brought in front of me this time?" Balgruuf addressed the guard, seeming almost bored with the small nord they placed in front of him.

"This one was busy assaulting a farmer when I found her, my Jarl."

Balgruuf fastened his gaze on her this time, slightly interested. Thaylen lifted hers to his, determined not to look like a craven for once. The Jarl was slouched on his throne like a rug that had been thrown over a line to dry. His sharp eyes assessed her, before he scratched his blonde beard contemplatively.

"_This one,_ punched out someone?" he sounded amused and Thaylen grit her teeth, she'd had it up to _here_ with people doubting what she was capable of. But she wasn't about to complain to the Jarl about it, especially a Jarl whose housecarl was currently glaring daggers at her.

"Yes, my Jarl, down at Pelagia Farm." The guard answered.

"This is the truth?" Balgruuf frowned down at her, and Thaylen gave a hasty nod, wanting to get out of Dragonsreach as fast as possible. The Jarl sighed, rubbing his forehead with his hands but doing a poor job of disguising a small smile.

"Give her the usual fine and get her out of here, I've got more important things to worry about." With a wave of his hand he dismissed them.

As she was marched away, Thaylen heard him whisper something about dragons to his housecarl. A chill ran down her spine, if that dragon appeared again…no, she didn't even want to _think_ about it. She took one last look at the dragon skull, dreading to think of what might happen if one of those monsters attacked Whiterun. She shivered before dragging her gaze away; the empty sockets still followed her. And well after the doors of Dragonsreach had shut they were still boring into her back.

* * *

><p>"<em>You what?!" <em>Vilkas was furious with her, but his twin gave a hearty laugh.

"Calm down brother, it's nice to know that she still has some fire in her after what you've been putting her through." He clapped Thaylen's shoulder and she nearly toppled over from the force of it.

She attempted to lighten Vilkas up with a sheepish grin, but her efforts seemed to bounce off an invisible shield. Those icy eyes melted the smile off her face and she gave an irritated growl.

"It's not my fault Farkas sent me to reason with a cow-headed _bitch."_ She gingerly swiped a hand across her split lip, it was already swelling. Vilkas sighed, throwing his hands in the air.

"Just try not to get yourself dragged up to the Jarl every time you set foot outside whelp. Come on, my brother's distracted you enough for today." Thaylen gave a resigned sigh, mouthing the words 'save me' to Farkas before she was hauled off by Vilkas. He laughed and shook his head before the doors closed after the pair.

Vilkas hefted a longsword from a weapon rack before picking a shorter one for her. She groaned, not this again. Vilkas frowned but kept silent. _He must be thinking the same thing, _she thought wryly. _It's not like I present much of a challenge, must get boring for him._ Once in the training ground, he took up position at one end and she the other.

"You know what to do." He called and she prayed to whatever god might be watching the undoubtedly amusing show of Vilkas handing her arse to her before streaking down the field at him.

She twisted the blade around in a haphazard overhand cut, but Vilkas flicked his blade up to block and steel met steel with a resounding _clang_. She tried a feint to the left before delivering a few side swings but he wasn't fooled. He merely shifted his feet to match hers and began to drive her back with a barrage of blows.

Thaylen bent back under the flurry, his blows falling like hammers, making her arms shake with each impact._ How the hell does he swing that thing around like a toothpick?_ Unfortunately for her, Vilkas was a believer of using real steel when training, so when the tip of his sword caught her on the wrist she reflexively dropped hers with a yelp. Immediately realising her mistake, she bent to pick it up, but not before Vilkas kicked it away, sending up a trail of dust that caught in her eyes. When she could see again, the tip of his sword was levelled with her face. His eyes blazed.

"You idiot," He spat, "what sort of warrior drops their sword halfway through a battle?" He dropped his sword to his side, before pacing a circle around her as she struggled to her feet, red faced.

"Are you such a coward that the mere thought of pain causes you to flinch and run away?"

"It was reflex!" she insisted, but he shot her down.

"Then you have the shittiest reflexes I've ever seen." He picked up her sword and threw it to her, she managed to catch it correctly, an improvement on their first few training bouts. Turns out holding a sword by the blade was not recommended.

"Show me your form." He commanded. Thaylen stood straight, poising the sword in front of her. Vilkas poked her back with his, "straighten up, you slouch too much, no wonder you can't deliver powerful stroke with that posture." He then told her to turn her wrists more, move your leg that way just an inch and get that bloody hair out of your eyes.

Of course, this was all forgotten the minute they started again, with Thaylen's hand having some sort of spasm attack hallway through an underhand cut and her sword ending up lodged in one of the targets used for archery. Vilkas gave a snorting laugh before yanking it out and tossing it to her.

"Again." She got three decent strokes in before he disarmed her this time.

"Again." She slipped and fell last minute, causing his slash to go well over her head.

Thinking quickly for once she lashed out with a foot, hitting him in the kneecap. Vilkas staggered to one knee with a grunt and she saw her chance. Giving a cry of victory she lashed out with the flat of her blade, intending to catch him in the chest. But, he managed to push himself to his feet and brought his sword up and around, flinging hers from her grip. _Un-bloody-believable._ He laughed at her expression before turning to retrieve it for her.

"No amount of underhanded tricks will let you beat me whelp." _Right, that's it, it's been a whole bloody week and I haven't even laid a hand on this arsehole. _As he was preoccupied Thaylen brought her leg out in a frustrated kick, planting it right in the small of his back and sending him staggering. She dashed forwards and picked up her sword, giving him the nastiest glare she could muster.

"I can pick my own sword up off the ground thanks." She snarled before pressing in on him, for once making him give some ground.

Brows furrowed and eyes intent on her cuts and parries she was not expecting Vilkas to sweep her legs out from underneath her. She was laid out flat on her back in an instant. Vilkas bent over her, a smirk on his face, _smug bastard._

"Two can play at that game, whelp." He looked about to help her up, but there was a sudden clamour rising from behind them.

"Vilkas come quickly it's happened again!" Farkas's voice was urgent as he called out from the doors, laced with worry, "It's Athis and Torvar!" Vilkas's face fell and he cursed under his breath, before sheathing his sword hurriedly. Thaylen struggled upright.

"What?" she asked breathlessly, "what's happened?" Vilkas seemed to hesitate, running a hand through his shaggy brown hair tensely. He turned to Jorrvaskr and then back to her, voice grave as he answered her question.

"The Silver Hand." He said it softly, but Thaylen could hear the words echoed long after he was gone.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So the Silver Hand are finally mentioned… shits gonna go down next chapter. :P Also more Thaylen being abused by chickens and Vilkas in this one.<strong>

**Enjoy, and review! **

**EDIT: 5/6 Just some more spacing out, grammatical errors fixed and such. :)**


	7. Bloody Gravel Rash

Jorrvaskr was in chaos by the time Thaylen staggered inside.

Torvar was out cold on the ground, his head in Ria's lap as she tended to a horrific wound on his temple. Athis was seated at the table, surrounded by a thick wedge of people; Thaylen didn't even try to listen in, instead hurrying over to Ria and asking if she what she could do to help.

She was promptly handed a wet cloth to dab at the bloody gash. As she worked around it gingerly she questioned Ria. Her fellow Companion glanced to the circle surrounding Athis.

"I'm not really sure, Athis and Torvar where sent on a mission the other morning, they just came back all bashed up like this. This drunkard collapsed the minute they got inside, Athis had been hit by some arrows," Ria bit her lip anxiously, "they keep talking about the Silver Hand."

Thaylen shook her head, confused. _The Silver Hand?_ She'd never heard of them before. The commotion around Athis was brought to a sudden halt as someone yelled over the top of it all.

"We need to get rid of these bastards once and for all!" _Oh god, that's Vilkas, maybe no one will notice….never mind._ The brown haired nord had already commanded the attention of pretty much the whole room.

Thaylen had a bad habit of feeling embarrassed for other people and she could tell that this wasn't going to end well judging by the exasperated look Kodlak was giving him, like a parent dealing with an irritable child. Vilkas himself was a sight to behold, teeth bared and eyes wild as he argued with his elder.

"Vilkas, I don't think you've thought this through…" Kodlak spoke with a pleading tone that the furious nord had no patience for.

"Thought it through? There's nothing to think about!" Vilkas seemed to be working himself up into a frenzy, "They've set the challenge and I say we take the battle to them for once! I 'm tired of having to watch my back every time I walk in the street just in case one of those bastards is about to stick a knife in it!" He looked around to the crowd for support and a few heads where nodding in agreement, "I say we find one of their camps and _flay _them all." Thaylen started nervously as he said that, the sharp lines of his face making him look…_hungry._

"_Vilkas!"_ Kodlak's tone was sharp as he squared up to the frustrated man. "Cease this foolishness; you are not in the right state of mind!"

For a second, Thaylen was certain that Vilkas was going to throw a punch at the old man but as she watched, he gave a snarl, turned abruptly and swept out of the cluster of people heading for the door. The flickering flames of the fire pit cast shadows on his face and Thaylen was chilled to the bone by what she saw there. She glanced down quickly as he passed her, not wanting to gain his attention.

"Go and calm yourself young one." Sadness laced Kodlak's voice and he looked about to say more but Vilkas was already gone.

The rest of the guild seemed to expel a sigh of relief, but Thaylen spied Aela and Skjor talking in hushed tones. From the frequent glances they cast at the door, she was sure that they had been on Vilkas's side. She jumped as Torvar stirred and groaned in her hands, giving a shaky grin up at her and Ria.

"Ah, I see two angels have come to spirit me away to Sovngarde, maybe a kiss for a brave war hero?" He cursed as Ria let his head fall with a resounding clunk to the ground.

"Not on your life Torvar." The Imperial sighed.

"Torvar, what exactly happened to you two?" Thaylen asked quickly before he could pass out again.

"Me an Athis were takin' care of a little, 'pest' problem out past Riverwood, we done the job good and were just headin' home when, out of bloody nowhere, we get mobbed by this pack of bandits. Said, they was the Silver Hand or something like that, all carryin' silver weapons too. I coulda' picked one up for meself if I hadn't got whacked over the head with it."

This short monologue seemed to exhaust him, and he rested his head back on the ground with a pained sigh, muttering something about needing a drink. Last she'd checked, regular bandits didn't go around giving themselves big fancy names and running around with silver weapons. Why would the Companions have such strange enemies?

Thaylen stared glumly at the ugly wound on Torvar's forehead. Knowing her luck; she would probably be in his position next time they were attacked. Her lips throbbed and she gingerly lifted a cup of water to them to see if it would help, but they just got worse.

Giving a sigh she turned her head to observe the Companions as they bustled around. Farkas was throwing glances to the door every few seconds, obviously worried about his brother. Aela tended to Athis, plucking arrow heads from his arms, not relenting no matter how much he protested. Skjor consoled Njada, who looked about to burst into tears. And Kodlak stood in the centre of it all, a grim pillar of strength and wisdom, deep in discussion with Vignar.

Thaylen wasn't sure whether to get angry or cry as she tried to think of what hellish kinds of people could possibly want all these people dead.

* * *

><p>"You're the new member of the Companions? What do you do, fetch the mead?" The guards' snarky voice echoed through Thaylen's head as she hiked her way back to up to Whiterun from Honningbrew's.<p>

Her initial unsavoury comeback had been rather undermined by the fact that fetching mead was _exactly_ what she had been doing.

Well, in her defence it wasn't mead to drink but knowing Torvar it would probably end up being exactly that. The bedridden Nord had asked Thaylen a favour of travelling down to the meadery and picking up some of Sabjorn's 'special brew'. Torvar had insisted that it was for his wound, but Thaylen knew better.

Still, with Vilkas still not returned a day after he stormed out of Jorrvaskr, she had nothing better to do. It had been late afternoon when she'd left Whiterun and the shadows where quickly overtaking the fields that ringed the hold.

Thaylen shivered and pulled her thick overcoat tighter around her small frame. Nights where freezing cold in Skyrim and she'd learned the hard way what happened when you didn't dress accordingly. Torvar's precious brew was in a satchel that she slung over her back, she'd acquired one when the Companions had first got her to cart things around for them.

It was either that or attempt to grow extra limbs, Thaylen had naturally taken the easy way out.

The guild was highly strung after the ambush. With tempers stretched to breaking points and two members bedridden Thaylen had learned to step carefully around the members after Njada nearly took her head off yesterday. She'd tried to approach Skjor to inquire about the Silver Hand but one acidic glare had sent her scurrying away.

No one had time for her questions so Thaylen had jumped at the opportunity to get away from the lot of them for an hour or so. She let her green eyes drift up to the sky, which was a perfect combination of dusky pink and grey, a few stray clouds floating on the breeze.

Night was closing in fast and Thaylen began to speed her steps up, all she had for protection was the short sword that Farkas had insisted she take with her. Just in case, he had said, but they both knew that it wouldn't do much in the event of an attack, not in her hands anyway.

Birdsong drifted to her ears from the fields, the scent of flowers coming with it, and Thaylen closed her eyes, content to listen to nature for a while. But what came next made her trip over a log and cringe to the ground.

A bone chilling howl, lifting into the sky. _Shit, shit, shit not another wolf, _Thaylen pressed her body to the grass, just off the main path, attempting to blend into the ground as the wild dirge reverberated around her. It was deep and feral, speaking of the hunt and the chase, the glory of battle.

_That's no wolf,_ she realised as an unwanted smell flooded her senses.

_Blood._

Thaylen's feet took her up and over the hills in a matter of seconds, dumping the satchel on the ground and completely ignoring her brains violent scream of '_what the hell are you doing?' _The howl had cut off and she noticed something else amiss, _there should have been more than one cry, wolves hunt in packs. _

She eased the short sword from its scabbard before hiding in a sparse copse of pines; the main path was completely out of sight. She could hear nothing but the wind from the unprotected plains so, holding her breath, she peeped around the trunk of the tree she was pressed up against. She didn't really know what was wrong with her, normally she'd have been running full ball for Whiterun. Well, curiosity did kill the Khajiit

At first all she saw was the elk. A mighty beast splayed out on the ground, its golden brown fur turning red, red, red the further down her eyes travelled. Something had bowled the beast over like a child's toy and tore out its stomach.

That something was currently hunched over its prey, head buried in the raw flesh. A troll, she decided by the look of the thick black fur that covered the thing. It was easily taller than her, maybe taller than _two_ of her. _But trolls don't howl like that_, her brain told her, overriding her attempts to ignore it, _and they definitely don't have tails. _

Thaylen's breath hitched in her throat and she began to back up, _its fine, its fine, the winds not blowing in your direction, __**its bloody fine**_**. **_These things don't exist, it's impossible_**.** But her legs were shaking and next minute she stood on a branch with a solid _snap._

_Shit._

Thaylen didn't stop to see if the thing had heard her, bolting for her life. She burst out of the trees and onto the rocky grass, reminding herself of another time she'd ran for her life across these very same fields. But that was just a giant, if this is what she thought it was, it was worse, _far_ worse.

She nearly fell again as that blood curdling howl started up, this time sounding more savage, like a roar. _The hunt is on_; she thought, her lungs already burning at the speed with which she was sprinting. She reflected morbidly on how this seemed to be the only thing she was good at, running away.

She ran on before slowing down and finally stopping at an outcrop of boulders. Gasping for breath, she whirled around, searching for signs of pursuit. But all she could hear was her heart hammering in her ears. She began to calm herself down, sheathing her sword after noticing that she'd ran all this way with it clutched in her hand.

"Its…all…good…_hnk_!" she was completely unprepared for the unstoppable force that sent her flying head over heels downhill.

Her back was torn up by the rocks and gravel on her skidding descent, until she finally came to a rest at the bottom_. Always check your sides before you think you're safe, _it'd been something that Vilkas had drilled into her but Thaylen no longer had any time to regret not listening to it. She scrambled to her knees, trying to ignore the gravel rash on her back and hands. But when she caught sight of her attacker, she fell back on her arse. At some point her brain screamed _run_, but her legs refused to listen.

Its eyes bored through her as it picked its way carefully downhill. They were very wild, very scary and very, _very_ yellow. They hooked her in like a fish on a line, until she could do nothing but sit and wait for her death.

The beast was tall, with a barrel like chest and a narrowed waist. Corded muscles stood out, whip like in its hind legs. It walked upright like a human but must've been able to run on all fours if it got to her that fast. It was covered from head to toe in thick black fur, except for shorter areas around the stomach and mouth.

_Oh god that mouth_.

Big enough that it could take her head off in one snap, crammed to the max with razor sharp fangs, stained red from its kill. A whimper escaped her lips as the thing picked her up by the neck in one clawed hand, lifting her effortlessly to its height. The two tufted ears twitched and it roared in her face.

Thaylen nearly passed out then, if not from the terror then from the foul breath. She had time for a brief thought of, _oh ew,_ before it hurled her to the ground and reared back. Thaylen closed her eyes as she lay, face up on the ground in a jumble of limbs and wolf slobber. She waited for pain that would inevitably come and wondered who in all of Skyrim would feel even the least bit of sadness at her death. She waited, and waited… until a sharp whine made her eyes fly open.

The monster was still looming over her, but as she watched it dropped to all fours and for a twisted second, she could've taken it for the biggest dog she'd ever seen. It whined again and began to retreat; shaking its head back and forth agitatedly, great hooked claws tearing at the ground.

Thaylen suddenly found herself in control of her legs again and she half dragged herself as far away from the thing as she could get. She barely dared to breathe as the werewolf looked her squarely in the eye again, but it dropped its head almost immediately before turning and running back up the hill. She pulled herself to her feet, mind numb, legs shaking and back stinging.

She felt wetness on her cheeks. The realisation that she could've died came crashing down on her and she fell to her knees before throwing up the contents of her stomach.

_Coward, you stupid coward._

The word sprang to the front of her mind and stayed there, haunting her as her breaths came in sobs, the bile stinging her throat.

_You should have died, useless, so useless._ Thaylen scrambled to her feet again and took off, legs taking over her mind and body once again. But try as she might the word still followed her, all the way back to Torvar's mead on the side of the path.

_Coward._

* * *

><p><em>Vilkas<em>

He was running. Paws eating up the ground as he flew through the plains. Trying to escape what he had left behind. Trying to forget those eyes that had stared up at his, trying to erase the sheer terror that had drowned all the spark from them. Trying to remember himself as a man and not a monster. But smothering it all was that feeling of guilt and dread, a feeling that he should not be capable of having in this form.

_What have I done? _

Vilkas turned sharply, racing for the woods, seeking solace among the ancient trees. His mind screaming abuse at him, berating him for his stupidity. He should have checked, before turning. _No, you should never have turned in the first place._

The power began to drain from his body and he doubled his efforts to reach the tree line. Smells flashed past him like colours, the sweet greens and blues of the night air, the black of the dead elk he had left to rot and overlaying it all was the stark red terror of the woman. A constant reminder of the atrocity that he had almost committed.

_What have I done?_

He broke through the first trees, their branches snagging at his fur like hands wanting to hold him down and rebuke him, but he barely noticed. His time had reached its limit and he staggered into a clearing a man reborn again, naked and weak.

He was disgusted at his lack of control_, one measly fight with Kodlak and you're forced to turn. What have you turned into?_ He inspected his hands, turning them over, in the half-light he could swear that they were claws once again. Claws that had nearly ripped out her throat. He let his head fall into those hands and indeed, if he'd still possessed claws he would've been tempted to sink them in and end it all. He was becoming a monster, subject to his own emotions, a puppet to the beast that raged inside him.

_What have I done? _

Closing his eyes did nothing to help. Her face kept springing up, stained with dirt and blood and tears, those green eyes dead. Throat pulsing with her lifeblood that he could practically taste- _NO!_

Vilkas clenched his fists and pulled at his hair, biting his tongue until blood flooded his mouth, tasting of salt and iron. He raised his eyes to the sky, fixing them on the constellations that he had memorised since he was a child. _Stars won't help you_. He dropped his gaze and stared bleakly at the forest floor.

She'd looked at him like he was a monster, like he was going to kill her. _And you were going to weren't you,_ his brain whispered to him, mocking him, _until you saw her lying on the ground in the exact same position she ended up in in each of your fights, you were going to kill her. _And the rage and desperation was building up again, until he was fit to burst. He began to move further away from Whiterun and he just managed to put it from his sight before his vision flashed red and he lurched forwards.

By the time he hit the ground he was already running as a wolf.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: And a wild Vilkas pov appears! That won't be happening too often but I couldn't resist after I wrote Thaylen's part. I'm so excited for this chapter :D Told you that shit was gonna go down. <strong>

**Sorry I completely forgot to answer reviews last chapter, so here goes.**

**Occitane: Thank you for reading my story so far! Yeah I really couldn't be bothered writing for both dragonborn and companions questlines, for me the whole dragonborn idea contradicted Thaylen's character too much. Heh, sorry about the name, I never know what to choose so I just picked something and ran with it :L **

**Athos-Aramis- Thank you! :) Yeah I wanted to keep it realistic that way, so she's not a no hoper one chapter and then a magnificent warrior the next :P**

**Hark: Thanks! Writing for Vilkas gets me nervous though, like I'll ruin the way people view him or something. :L**

**Found in reverie: haha It's great that everyone likes the chickens, thank you! **

**AgressiveNegotiations: Thank you so much! It's great to know that people get my humour :P**

**DreamerOfTheFlowingDream: Great to know that you like Thaylen! Oh, whoops if you see any mistakes don't be afraid to point out the exact ones so as I can fix them up in future!**

**Enjoy! **

**EDIT: 5/6 spaced it out a bit more, cleaned up some grammar problems. **


	8. Bloody Nightmares

The wooden sword swept up, left, right.

_Thwack, thwack, thwack,_ the sharp staccato rang out around the courtyard. Thaylen's breath came in sharp bursts and her arms felt like they were tearing from their sockets but still she continued to doggedly feint and twist around the wooden post.

She could feel the sweat running down her brow, and the blisters forming on her newly healed hands. _Thwack, thwack, thwack,_ the post seemed to sway in front of her tired eyes, twisting into strange shapes that sprang unbidden to the forefront of her mind.

_Thwack,_ Vilkas's sneering face, _thwack_ the bitchy wood elf farmer, _thwack_ the dragon from Helgen. _Thwack, werewolf._ She didn't notice that she'd fallen to her knees until Skjor shook her roughly by the shoulder.

"Thaylen!" her lip twitched into a smile, something she'd learnt over the past two weeks was that the Companions only called you by the first name when they were worried, or pissed off, unless of course the Companion was Farkas. And indeed, Skjor's face was lined with concern as he crouched next to her, but she shook him off.

"I slipped, that's all." She staggered to her feet before returning to her routine. Skjor sighed and retreated, leaning back against the battlements as he resumed his careful watching of her training.

_Thwack, thwack, thwack_, the sword was back at the wood, the sharp recoil of its unyielding surface almost making her drop the thing.

It had been nearly a full week since she'd been hunted down and thrown around like a rag doll by that _thing. _Ever since, it had plagued her, haunting her nightmare's, appearing whenever she closed her eyes and worst of all, its shape following her through the shadows.

_Thwack, thwack, thwack, _she hadn't told anyone, how could she? Werewolves were a thing of fairytales, told to children to keep them from straying at night. They'd think she was mad. Was she mad? Had the encounter been a figment of her imagination? No, the scars on her back where an unwanted reminder of what had happened, a reminder that she had nearly died and had been completely powerless to stop it.

The sound of her sword had changed its tune, _useless, useless, useless_. Thaylen grit her teeth, twisted around and brought the sword across in a lightning fast chop, half of the wooden blade stayed in her hands, the other half span off into the bushes. She cast a guilty look at Skjor, who sighed.

"I think that's enough for today, get some rest whelp." Even those words were gentle and Thaylen couldn't help but be irritated by it.

The whole guild had been on tenterhooks around her after she'd staggered into Jorrvaskr five nights past, dishevelled and wide eyed, stinking of blood and sweat and vomit. She'd lied through her teeth to them all, and half of them knew it.

That hadn't stopped Aela from scrubbing the dirt and gravel from her back and forcing her to drink what felt like half the wine in the whole building. But there were still the sideways glances and sympathetic looks. The only people remaining normal around her were Farkas and Aela, they continued with their ribald jests and tales, still calling her 'Giant Slayer' with smiles on their faces.

And then there was Vilkas.

He had strolled into Jorrvaskr the morning after she had returned from Torvar's quest, had eaten what looked to be twice his own weight in food and returned to his daily routine like nothing had happened.

The whole guild acted as though there had been no fight between Kodlak and Vilkas and Thaylen began to think that it was something that occurred often. He even excused her from training until her back healed up, but she'd seen something flicker through his eyes and he hadn't lingered to talk.

Two days later, she'd got up in the early hours of the morning and had begun to swing her sword without Vilkas to watch. He'd turned up at their usual meeting time and Thaylen hadn't known whether to laugh or feel insulted at the surprised look that'd been plastered over his face.

He seemed to accept her sudden change of attitude without comment. Though now that she thought about it, Vilkas had made very little comment's the past few days. Oh the insults where still there, but he usually saw their training sessions out with as little talking as possible, arriving no earlier than usual and leaving abruptly as soon as the sky began to darken. Today he hadn't turned up at all and Skjor had taught her in his stead.

_I dunno what's up his arse… I don't care_. But she did. Wiping sweat from her brow before casting the broken practice sword aside she helped Skjor pack the rest of the equipment up. He'd had her practice with a shield today, and had come to the firm decision to never do it again.

Both of them had come off with bruises, though the mark on Skjor's forehead had been caused by Thaylen slipping and bashing his head with hers. Nevertheless they'd both agreed never to talk of it again. Skjor cracked his back before turning to leave.

"I'll be inside with the others, see you at dinner." Her smile dropped the minute he was gone. She sat on the steps with a frustrated sigh.

Resting her chin on one hand she found herself watching the sky as the pink of the setting sun faded, taken over by the choking blackness of night. She did not remember how long she sat there, eyes drinking in the endless space. Stars came and went, winking at her, mere silver pinpricks in the dark. It was the sound of a door creaking on its hinges that shook her from her silent reverie.

"Thought I'd find you out here." It was Aela; the huntress took a seat next to her on the step, before shoving something in her hands. A bread roll stuffed with meat, the mere smell of it made her stomach howl.

"Vilkas thought it was about time you ate something," Aela smiled, "feel privileged, it's not every day he makes such masterpieces." Thaylen had to smile.

"He didn't make this." She snorted, unable to picture the prickly nord having anything to do with food other than eating it.

"Well, he did cut the bread roll in half." Aela shrugged grudgingly and Thaylen laughed before tearing at her food ravenously. The huntress leaned back on her hands and resumed Thaylen's stargazing for her.

"Beautiful isn't it? There's no sky in all of Tamriel like that of Skyrim's," her voice seemed wistful, "it's the mountain air you see, clears the clouds and gives off these amazing auroras, see, there's one forming over there."

Thaylen followed her pointing finger and the food nearly fell from her gaping mouth. A flickering myriad of bright greens and soft blues lit up the night sky. They twisted and flexed, making her eyes water if she stared for too long.

"I've never seen anything like that." She whispered and Aela nodded in agreement. Thaylen shot her a grateful look for pulling her out of her crappy mood and leant back against the steps, the cool night air lulling her. She took another bite, content to sit in the company of a friend, the aurora lights dancing in the sky, eating a sandwich which may or may not have been made by her worst enemy. Just for a few minutes, life was at its greatest.

* * *

><p><em>She was dancing. Clad in a soft gown, dark tresses of hair flowing around her shoulders. She had a brief thought of why doesn't my hair look like this in real life, before she was whisked off her feet by her partner.<em>

_A tall man, strong of shoulder, he could lift her up effortlessly and spin her around in the air. His hand clasped with hers, and she could feel that he was __**there**__, but try as she might she could never catch sight of his face. Her eyes searched for it, but it kept slipping away at the last minute. They span and twirled around and around and she noticed that they were suspended in darkness. Giving a yelp of fear she clutched at her dancing partner._

_He let go._

_She was falling now, hair streaming like a banner behind her. The ground rose to meet her with a thud and she curled her hands into the grey grass, taking reassurance in its solidness. Black and white trees clawed at her as she rose to her feet, their naked branches scratching at her face. Then the howl rose from behind her. The disturbing melody rose into octaves that no human voice could reach and she took off without a second glance._

_She was running, tree branches snagging in her hair, until it resembled a crow's nest once more. The howl seemed to press in on her from all sides, until she thought she would be crushed between its wavering pitch. She burst into a clearing and there he was. Her dancing partner crouched over something on the ground. _

_The howling had stopped but her feeling of relief dried up inside her when he turned around. Twisted fingers clutched at a pile of bloody entrails which slipped through his hands as he rose to meet her. She dared not look at the pale mess of blood and flesh that lay on the floor. _

_She willed her legs to run, but found that she had no control over them as they stepped forwards to meet him in the centre of the clearing. In a few seconds his hands were joined with hers, though they were slick with blood and she could feel his bones through his skin. _

_**What is he? **__She opened her mouth to ask, but they were off, twirling faster than ever as the howl started up again, eerie background music to their fevered dance. Her head spun in terror as his hands began to distend and morph in hers, until she was clasped in a pair of claws. _

_She kept her eyes off his face, staring desperately over his shoulder as they twisted and turned to the haunting beat. All of a sudden she was twisted near to the ground in his arms as the howling stopped for the last time and she found to her horror that she was staring directly into her own face. The poor pile of mush and bones on the ground was her, clad in the same frock with the same black hair and green eyes. Black hair streaked with blood, and green eyes that stared without seeing._

_She was screaming then, as he brought her up to meet his face. And when he tore open her throat it was with the teeth of a wolf. _

Thaylen woke on the floor in a tangle of sheets and legs, sweat running down her back and breath coming in gasps. She rolled over and a pair of boots took up most of her vision, she stared at their scuffed toes for a good minute or two, letting the aftermath of the nightmare wash over her. The boots were replaced with a pair if knees as someone crouched and shook her shoulder.

"Thaylen?" oh shit, she didn't want the owner of _that_ voice to see her splayed out on the floor like this_._ Vilkas took a hold of her chin and shook her head, clapping her cheeks when that failed to rouse her.

"_Wake up whelp…" _

She seemed to regain control of her body then, and lurched up, slapping his hands away from her face. He fell backwards on his arse, startled by her sudden movement.

"Erk." Fell out of her mouth instead of the cutting remark she'd had in mind. She clutched at her head with one hand, wincing at the headache that was already forming. Vilkas rose to his feet, leaving her to pull herself up, using the bed as support.

"You look like shit." He smirked.

"So do you." She flashed back. And indeed, he looked almost as bad as she felt, the dark circles under his eyes barely masked by the war paint, body slouching more than usual. He ran a hand through his hair and she noticed that he was in full armour, greatsword strapped across his back. They usually only wore light leathers for training, and Thaylen blanched.

"_What_ are you going to do to me today?" her voice caught at the end of the sentence and she fell into a coughing fit. He waited till she finished and slung a small knapsack at her feet.

"Get those on, we're going on a field trip." She rifled through the boiled leathers in the bag, they were new, apparently made to fit her better than the shoddy ones they used for practice. He set a pair of boots and greaves on top of what was already there and finally a short sword in its scabbard. She unsheathed it, noticing for the first time that there was no one else in the common room; it must have been late in the morning. She tested its edge and felt her stomach clench.

"I'm guessing we're not going on the usual joy trip."

Vilkas frowned.

"I was thinking more along the lines of pest clearance."

"Mice?" she asked hopefully, and he almost smiled at that.

"Bandit's, it's time you got some battle experience _whelp."_

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Right, well that one ended rather abruptly. Heh. Some surreal dream sequences and mopey Thaylen in here, don't worry, that'll clear up soon enough. :) Deviating a bit away from the companions questline here, but I wanted to get Thaylen out of Whiterun and Jorrvaskr for a bit. <strong>

**Enjoy!**


	9. Bloody Giant Rats

_Blood,_ the rank smell of it clogged her nostrils as she backed up against the cold stone wall.

Dripping moss and lichen trailed down her arms and she retreated further into it, hoping to escape what was after her.

_Blood,_ the sight of it, sprayed across the walls like some twisted decoration. She should never have walked into this cursed place, now she would never walk out. She stopped creeping backwards and for a while all was silent, she didn't know how far she'd ran into the bowels of the cave, didn't remember how to get back, didn't remember where she'd left him.

What she did remember was to draw her sword, holding it in front of herself, her only paltry defence. It wouldn't do much, not against this monster.

There was a sound beside her, the subtle movement of feet on the stones and suddenly, there they were. The pair of red eyes, spearing her to the spot, and a laugh, deep, not what she was expecting to come from _that_ mouth.

_Blood_, the taste of it as she bit her tongue in sheer panic. She opened her mouth to call out for help and remembered how far away 'help' was. She began to back up, eyes never leaving those that were suspended in the dark.

Vilkas was far behind her and Thaylen sure as hell wasn't going to die without him knowing how damn well unhappy she was about it. But before she could run, the thing had pinned her to the wall, its foul breath stirring her hair. Thaylen made herself open her eyes but all that was to be seen was the blood, dripping from teeth that extended ever closer to feast on hers.

* * *

><p><em>Earlier that day<em>

"Admit it, you're lost." Normally Thaylen would not have purposefully rubbed Vilkas the wrong way, but _normally_ he had a blade at her throat, so she was feeling especially daring today.

The strange duo had started out from Whiterun well into the hours of morning, packs slung across shoulders, or in Thaylen's case crushing shoulders. They had stuck to the main road for a good hour but then Vilkas had decided to veer off track. And now the pair where utterly lost in the rolling hills far west from Whiterun.

Thaylen shaded her eyes and could barely spot the city on the far horizon. The afternoon sun beat down on her neck and she could feel her skin searing.

"You mean _we're_ lost." Vilkas snarled.

"Piss off, you're the bloody navigator, I don't even know where we're going." She flopped down on a sizeable boulder, leaving Vilkas to shoot one last glare her way before stalking up the hill to scope out their surroundings.

She sighed, scuffing her boots on the ground, that was another thing to add to her list of problems. New boots plus a three hour hike was not a pretty combination, she could practically hear her toes screaming bloody murder. Thankfully the armour had given her much less trouble and the sword only tripped her up _occasionally. _

She swiped a hand across her brow before examining Vilkas from the corner of her eyes. Tall, clad in armour that she couldn't lift with _both_ hands and yet he managed to trudge over about a friggin million hills in it, currently with both hands shading his eyes and she had a brief thought of the consequences that would arise if she pushed him downhill.

He turned and beckoned her up, a smug look on his face. Thaylen growled to herself and trudged up the hill, footsore and weary.

"I've found it!" he pointed downhill and her eyebrow twitched. It was a cave, embedded in a large rocky outcrop which formed a natural ravine, and there, about twenty metres from its entrance, was a familiar stone path.

"Vilkas." She rubbed her temples with a hand, "_that's the main path." _She was of course, ignored, with Vilkas instead motioning for her to be quiet, he pointed to the entrance of the cave and Thaylen could just make out a pair of figures outside it.

He crouched down low and, not bothering to check if Thaylen was following began to creep downhill. Grumbling to herself she followed, keeping in the shade of the ravine. About halfway down, she noticed him touch a hand to a dagger he wore on his hip, inching it from its sheath as her moved, and she let her own hand fall to the pommel of her sword.

She wondered if today would be the day that she would take her first life; it was not a particularly entertaining thought. However, once in full view of the figures, she saw that someone had beaten her to it. Vilkas gave a sharp curse and Thaylen would have lost her breakfast if not for the fact that she hadn't eaten any.

It was clear by the way their heads turned to each other that even in death, the pair had been lovers.

The male was impaled through the chest by a spike, a sword lying mere inches from one slack hand. _He died fighting_; Thaylen saw that the spike had not been what had killed him because his neck was near cleft in two. His beloved had been pinned to the cave wall by arrows; her auburn hair hacked off partially at the roots. Thaylen didn't want to look at what the bandits had done to her before putting her out of her misery, but her eyes would not avert. Someone had fixed their hands together with a knife through the palms, in a twisted show of amusement.

"So young." Vilkas muttered pulling the dagger from the pairs entwined hands; they fell to their sides, slack and unmoving.

His shoulders were rigid, even though his voice was deathly calm, but Thaylen would have preferred some sort of emotion. _Normal people don't react like this_, she shook her head, more to herself than anything, but Vilkas looked up sharply at the movement and she flinched away. _They don't react like this to death, not to death;_ the flinch had been instinctive for her, but something flickered in his eyes before he dropped them from hers.

_Was it guilt?_ Somewhere in the back of her mind it registered that that was the first time Vilkas had been the one to drop his gaze_. Say something, anything; break the silence, _so she did.

"Who would- when- _why?"_ Her eyes were dry, but her voice shook as she fixed her eyes on the sorry sight in front of her once more.

"Sick bastards, that's who. P eople who kill innocents for their own twisted amusement. This is why we're here today; I received a message from a family in Rorikstead, looking for their lost ones," his voice cracked like a whip, drawing her attention from the sad corpses, "look well and learn a harsh lesson whelp. Life isn't fair; fate finds a way to screw everyone over."

_Life isn't fair._ The words rang a chord in her brain, and it stuck.

"Come on whelp, we'll bury them when we get back."

_If we get back._ She took one last look at the doomed elopers, fixing their faces in her mind before following him in.

The darkness of the cave closed around her unexpectedly, leaving her blind and vulnerable. Within a few twists and turns the entrance was no longer visible, taking all the sunlight with it. Thaylen fell back on touch and hearing to help herself navigate the rapidly descending path. The ground beneath her boots was a mix of small gravel and those large rocks whose only purpose in life was tripping you up at the most inopportune moments.

The air was dank and stuffy; all she could hear were Vilkas's footsteps intermingling with her own. They travelled in silence, following the path for what felt like a lifetime. With each step Thaylen got more and more apprehensive; her mind was conjuring up all manner of dark and twisted beasts that could lurk in the depths.

The deeper they went, the colder it got, until she had to clench her teeth to stop them chattering. Vilkas suddenly stopped, and Thaylen, eyes intent on the ground, ran slap bang into his back. All her muttered apology got was a glare so she fell silent once more. Vilkas had his head cocked to one side and he motioned to his ears, telling her to listen.

Eyes squeezed shut, ears straining, Thaylen could barely make out the muted sounds of conversation. With a stare that said, 'if you so much as breathe I'll strangle you' Vilkas crept around the corner and was gone.

_Gee thanks for the most engaging and witty conversation I've had in years Vilkas._ Thaylen crouched down low, _alone in the dark…what was that?!_ The pitter-patter of small feet on stone made her start to slowly inch backwards.

_Bandit's don't sound like that, it can't be anything bigger than a little bunny rabbi- OH- OH GOD. _Around the corner came the BIGGEST GODDAMNED RAT she had ever seen. The size of a small dog, covered in an equal amount of weeping sores and coarse black fur it took one look at the small nord and flew for her face.

Thaylen reeled backwards, heart hammering in her chest as the thing barely missed her. The rat's mouth opened and it let out a high pitched screech. _ Skeever_, the word rose to the front of her brain or, as Farkas liked to call them, annoying little shits with _sharp_ teeth.

Well the monster rat might've been annoying to Farkas, but _he _could easily squish the poor thing between his _pecs_. Thaylen herself was rather lacking the required muscle department to do _that_, so the rat posed a bigger problem to her. Remembering the sword at her side, she unsheathed it with a triumphant _hah! _

Too late she recalled Vilkas's warning but her voice was off, echoing down the tunnel. She could practically hear him grinding his teeth in frustration. The Skeever commanded her attention once more as its filthy claws dug into her shin. Growling in irritation, she slammed the sword down, point first into the things neck. It made a strangely satisfying crunching noise and the Skeever slumped to the ground. Yanking her sword out, Thaylen quickly retreated into the shadows; torch light was flickering ever closer on the sides of the tunnel.

"You sure it wasn't the wind whistling through the bloody empty space in your head Marv?" the woman's voice was coarse, but her insult fell on deaf ears.

"I'm sure I heard him screech." The male was too concerned to listen to his companion.

_Oh god, don't tell me I just killed their bloody pet_. Thaylen shrank further down the tunnel, _where was Vilkas when you needed him? _The torch light was up to where she'd killed the rat and for a second there was a horrible silence. The scream bounced off the walls and Thaylen flinched at the unexpected noise. _Cripes it was just a bloody ra-._

"_Ohgodpleaseno-"_ the panicked voice was cut off with a horrible gargling choke. _Oh_. Thaylen took off down the tunnel and was faced with the sight of one near decapitated man lying on the ground and Vilkas removing his sword from the chest of the woman.

"Lovely." she choked out, trying to avoid slipping in the copious amount of blood. Vilkas looked up from where he was wiping his sword on the woman's tunic. He noticed the blood on her sword and the Skeever lying on the ground.

"You managed to kill a rat. _Well done." _the sarcasm was practically dripping off his words.

"Rat? _That_ was not a rat, that was a _pissed off_ miniature _wolf_," she edged around the woman, trying not to look at her for too long, "where were you?"

"I was just about to get rid of this filth," he gestured to the bandits, "when you practically scream out 'I'm an idiot come kill me!' you have no _idea_ how hard it was to sneak up behind them!" Thaylen shifted uncomfortably under his glare and he gave a resigned sigh. "Come on, best if we don't linger."

He moved off, sheathing his sword across his back as he went. Thaylen paused and attempted to wipe the blood from her sword, before scurrying off after Vilkas, not wanting to be left behind.

Before long they came to the place where Vilkas had obviously been trying to sneak up on the bandits. Lit by several torches mounted on the walls, a table and chairs graced the middle of the room; two piles of furs lay on the ground, paltry substitutes for beds. The cave seemed to stop here, with no adjoining tunnels showing a way further in. The table was covered with a variety of food and Thaylen's stomach gave a noticeable growl.

"Seems they set up camp here for a while," Thaylen picked a slice of cheese off a knife, popping it onto her mouth as she further examined the room, "well, looks like we've got our murderers, let's go- _hnk!"_ She was brought back into the room by Vilkas's hand firm on her shoulder.

"Not so fast whelp, these aren't our murderers." He seemed to be searching for something, pressing his hands against the rock.

"Well who did then?" Thaylen leant up against a raised indent on the wall and there was a loud _click._ With the screech of stone grinding on stone, a portion of the wall slid into the ground, revealing another tunnel.

Vilkas turned to her with raised eyebrows before motioning to his neck.

"Bite marks." He smirked at the horrified expression on her face, before taking a torch from its rack and disappearing into the gloom. Thaylen scrambled to pick up some apples, _may as well die with a full stomach._ But as she followed Vilkas into yet another dark cave they lay forgotten in her pack.

* * *

><p>It was a much shorter journey than the first, with Thaylen and Vilkas arriving in a small cavern after about five minutes of stumbling in the dark. No torches lit this place; it was dark and damp, water beginning to trickle down the walls. <em>We must be under snow,<em> Thaylen folded her arms across her chest, it had only got colder as they travelled deeper.

Vilkas however, showed no signs of discomfort but then again, _he_ was holding the torch. He was looking thoughtfully at a large iron door, almost as if he was determined to gaze right _through_ it.

Thaylen waited with bated breath for him to open it…and waited. Finally he placed a hand on the surface and she shifted on her feet with impatience, _just open the bloody door! _That was when he turned to her, eyes wide with urgency.

"_Duck!" _he yelled, pressing himself flat to the ground_._

Time seemed to slow down as Thaylen dove out of the way. She thudded into the ground just as a crackling spear of ice pounded busted straight through the door. It embedded itself in the wall and stuck there, tendrils of magic peeling off from its length. Thaylen was about to scramble to her feet but Vilkas yanked her back down with a sharp tug on her ankle.

A second spear that would've taken her through the neck joined the first in the wall. Vilkas rolled to the side with a loud curse until he was out of the firing line; Thaylen did the same on the other side of the shattered door. Vilkas craned his head to get a look at their assailant. He jerked it back as another spear hit the door frame.

"There's only one, we can get him easily." he called across. Thaylen wasn't so sure, if those ice spears could pierce solid stone, she didn't want to know what they would do to flesh.

"We'll have to rush him and hope that he misses." He eased his greatsword from its sheath and Thaylen suddenly saw a chance to impress.

She fished around in her pack and brought out one of the apples from before. Drawing her sword, she dove out from the cover of the door, hoping that Vilkas would follow. There was a rapid whoosh of parting air by her cheek as an ice spear missed her by a hairs breadth. The sheer coldness of it burned her flesh as it passed by.

Seizing her chance Thaylen scoped out her target, a tall hooded figure. Still running she shrieked to capture its attention and pegged her apple in its general direction. The red fruit caught their attacker a direct hit to the face and Thaylen had a brief moment of satisfaction before she had to flex ungracefully to avoid another ice spear as it flashed past.

_Shit_, she couldn't regain her balance in time to avoid the next one but her opponents spell was rather interrupted by Vilkas stabbing him from behind. He gave a piercing shriek before crumpling to the ground as Vilkas removed his sword.

Thaylen trotted over, gingerly patting her cheek as she went. The brown haired nord gave her a thoughtful look before crouching down to unveil their foe. He gave a low whistle and Thaylen looked on in slight disgust.

She would have guessed that the vampire had once been a nord by the breadth of his shoulders and blonde hair but the face was twisted beyond recognition. Wild red eyes that stared at her even now, face turned all sharp and angled and the teeth. Most of them were normal size but the rather prominent canines had extended low enough to bite into his lips were his mouth closed.

"He was hungry." Vilkas observed, Thaylen looked at him but could see no disgust in his eyes, instead there was…pity? "I think we've got our killer." He stood up and looked around the cavern with a critical gaze, there were several doors leading to Talos knew what. "Whelp, start looking behind those." He drawled, before starting to clean his blade once again.

Thaylen threw him a bitter look, _I just saved our asses you…you utter __**nob**__!_ She marched over to the doors and began methodically checking what was behind them. _Bedroom, alchemy lab, storage, oooh money!_ Thaylen eagerly pocketed the coin purse and was about to open the last and final door when it suddenly swung open on its own.

Thaylen gave a loud yelp as she was faced with two more vampires, a Dark Elf and an Argonian. One carried a sword, the others hands glowed with red magic, both were about as surprised as she was to find the other standing in their way. Thaylen took that advantage and ran with it.

"VILKAS, PROBLEM!" she shouted and her fist was flying into the Dark Elf's face. He staggered back and Thaylen was past him, sprinting down the tunnel for all she was worth. The Argonian was about to follow her but was distracted by Vilkas bulling into his side.

"Come on you bastard!" there was a resounding hiss to the nords insult and by then Thaylen was out of sight. The Dark Elf took one look at his companion, who was frantically trying to block Vilkas's powerful swings with his short sword and decided to take his chances with the altogether far less dangerous looking woman.

Thaylen looked over her shoulder to her pursuer. He was fast, as fast as her; she didn't stand a chance of outrunning him. So she decided to use surprise as her weapon again, _the hunter never expects the prey to turn around now does it?_

The breath was expelled from the Dark Elf's lungs as Thaylen turned and rammed her elbow into his abdomen. Winded, he doubled over but was slammed backwards as her knee connected with his face.

_I thought vampires would've been scarier_, Thaylen thought as she circled her target, sword drawn. Now would have been the perfect time to finish him off as he gasped and chocked, neck bent as if it was waiting for her blow. But still she hesitated, and the chance was gone.

The Dark Elf gave a rabid snarl, drawing an axe and hacking at her face. Her sword came around to intercept, the impact shuddering up her arms_. He's as strong as Vilkas;_ she blanched, parrying his next few chops as she frantically tried to devise a strategy to use. _Axes aren't as fast as sword's but with his strength it barely matters_.

She darted her blade underneath one of his crushing overhands and was rewarded with a hit on his ribs. He flinched back and Thaylen acted fast, she brought her right leg between his and, with an all too familiar twist of her ankle, sent her assailant sprawling to the ground. It was a move that Vilkas had used on her frequently, never mind the fact that she fell for it every time.

He hissed and spat, teeth lengthening as he fell on his last tactic of trying to scare her but it was to no avail. Thaylen thrust her sword through his chest with both hands and his mouth clacked shut. His red eyes flared wide and he gave her an almost hurt look as he lay dying. Thaylen wrenched her sword from his chest and fell back on her arse.

_You've killed a man_; the thought tried to catch hold in her brain but for some reason it kept slipping. She shook her head, _this was not a man this was a monster_. She stood on shaking legs, sword slack at her side, the blood pooling on the ground. She swiped a hand across her sweaty brow, brushing back black hair.

"Oh very good," she whirled towards the silky saccharine voice a second too late.

A back breaking force lifted her off her feet, sending her crashing to the ground. Vision blurred and chest aching from the blow, Thaylen sobbed for breath. The smell of blood filled her nostrils but she couldn't be sure if it was hers or the creatures that she'd just killed.

A hand pulled her to her feet, fingers digging so hard into her arm that they drew blood. In a rush, she regained her sight and nearly passed out from the sight. The woman's race was unidentifiable but one thing was sure, this thing holding her up was the vampire that she'd been envisioning when Vilkas had first mentioned them.

Impossibly strong, red slits for eyes and, most terrifying of all, each and every tooth crammed in this monsters mouth was sharp and pointed. As she watched, the vampire laughed and released her, bringing fingers soaked with blood to her lips, moving over to the tunnel that Thaylen had come from, blocking her escape.

_Blocking Vilkas_, Thaylen watched in horror as the thing licked each digit perfectly clean_, oh gross._ She tried to call out, to scream for help but she was robbed of her voice. The vampire cast a disdainful look to the Dark Elf on the ground, before turning to Thaylen with a breezy sigh.

"You know, I never really liked him," Those red eyes bored into Thaylen's, "I think I'll like you _much_ more."

Thaylen ran.

* * *

><p><em>Present time <em>

_This is it_, the words pounded through her head as Thaylen lay pinned against the wall.

The lichen was tangling in her hair, the water running down her neck but she didn't mind. _This is it, this is how it ends, picked clean by a vampire… how fancy is that? The bitch is taking her bloody fine time with it too. _

Thaylen twitched her right hand, the one with the sword but the vampire clenched its fingers in her arm, claws digging in again. A high pitched giggle rang out from the monster and Thaylen nearly snarled in anger. The fingers twisted deeper and a garbled yelp of pain was wrenched from her lips. Her green eyes were captured by the red ones once again and all hope fled from her. The vampire felt her body go slack and smiled.

"I think you'll find Vampirism rather befitting," she licked her lips, "after you're turned we'll go snack on your friend hmmm?" The vampire opened her mouth in a lunge for Thaylen's neck.

_This is it._

_**NO. **_The word planted itself in Thaylen's mind and coursed through her very being and something that was definitely not, Thaylen, was wrenching her arm out of the vampires grip and pushing it away like one does an annoying child.

_**This one is not yours to take, she is…interesting, **_there it was again; decidedly male, echoes trailing in its voice could clearly be heard by the vampire because she was backing up rapidly, eyes darting around. Thaylen could only watch as something seemed to take over her body, making her step forwards slowly.

She watched in horrified fascination as her arms flexed and moved, though she hadn't told them to. Her fist shot out, catching the vampire square in the stomach. The power of the punch almost knocked Thaylen's body backwards, even Farkas would not have been able to hit that hard. As for the vampire, it dropped to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.

_**You've been interrupting the hunt, **_the voice was soft now, and all the more dangerous for it, _**what say you in your defence? **_The vampire struggled to its knees and spat blood at Thaylen's feet. Something seemed to sigh, _**wrong answer, **_and Thaylen's sword arm swang down, the point going straight through one of those red eyes with a sickening squelch.

Suddenly her body was her own again and Thaylen fell to her knees, holding her head in her hands. _**Be thankful that you still entertain me mortal, **_the voice pressed in on her until she felt that her eardrums would surely collapse. _**Something is required, I think, for others to realise that you are not theirs to take, yes, a marking will do. **_There was a searing pain on her upper right arm and Thaylen gave a whimper as she could feel something pressing into her flesh.

"What are you?!" she shrieked. "Piss off, go away, l-leave me be."

She was failing, black dots swimming in her vision and the pain, oh the pain, lancing through her whole body. "I'm not your entertainment, not-not yours." The last words came as whispers as her face pressed into the dirt, her knees collapsing. _**You will be, **_the voice seemed amused, _**I will have you, the hunt will go on and rest assured that one day you will hear the call of the horn, the howl, the bloodlust, and you won't be able to resist. **_

He left her then, in the dark, to either live or die. The new silence encompassed her, until all she could hear was the ringing in her ears. She didn't remember how long she lay there, minutes, hours, days even, until there was a shifting of gravel and someone was cradling her head in their hands. Her eyes were open and she could see but she couldn't comprehend.

So when the blue eyed, brown haired form shook her, she couldn't remember who it was. He was opening his mouth but her ears weren't picking up what he was saying. All she could bring herself to do was bring up a hand and touch the side of his face simply because it felt like the right thing to do.

So Vilkas sat there stock still, until her hand fell from his cheek and she went slack, passed out. He searched her for wounds and could find none but deep holes in her shoulder and arm. He numbed his mind, not wanting to over think the situation.

The vampire lying on the ground next to her was of an entirely different calibre to the ones he had taken out. By all rights, Thaylen should be the one dead on the ground. He bent to sling her over his shoulder and something caught his eye.

There branded on her right shoulder in black was a swirling picture of a wolf chasing a stag, or was it the other way around? Vilkas squinted at the design, it was neat, with sharp lines but it had the undeniable redness around the edges of a new tattoo. He looked closer until he saw it. There, branded in the centre of both creatures' foreheads was a** H.**

**The horn**

**The hunt**

**The howl**

They weren't his words, but Kodlak's and Vilkas felt the bile rise in is throat as he remembered the rest of the verse.

**By these three ancient commandments of man**

**I brand thee a servant to the one god**

**The prince of the hunt, the chase and the sacrifice**

_**Hircine**_

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Good god this one took <strong>_**forever. **_**Right so; I've got some explaining to do. Hircine has been growing rather bored down in Oblivion, so he's found some entertainment in Thaylen for now. I imagine him as being that sort, the type that likes to see his victims go through trials and tests. Don't worry, Hircine will not be giving Thaylen god like Mary sue powers, that was a one off thing because he sure as hell didn't want her to become a bloody vampire. Also, I'll admit, the tattoo thing was random, but I needed Vilkas to find out somehow without it turning into a big mushy 'heart to heart' between him and Thaylen. Oh and also, this relationship is not going to randomly appear in the first ten chapters of this fic, it's going to take **_**time**_** and **_**develop**_** like normal relationships do. So Thaylen being delirious and touching Vilkas's face doesn't mean that they're gonna be sucking face in the next chapter. **

**KrystylSky: heh, yes I can't wait to write **_**that**_** and the spiders **_**oh god**_**. As for embracing the wolf side, we'll see ;) **

**Gonkfish Productions: whoops, I suppose my chapters have been rather short, but I'm trying to update on a weekly basis and I've got school to worry about too. Hopefully this one's a bit more to your liking? **


	10. Bloody Scabbards

"_Light thinks it travels faster than anything but it is wrong. No matter how fast light travels, it finds the darkness has always got there first, and is waiting for it."_

― _Terry Pratchett, Reaper Man_

* * *

><p>The weathervane turned rapidly in the wind, its rusted iron joint creaking with ever fading protests.<p>

"North, south, north…eas-pfft!" Thaylen delicately pulled her hair from her mouth, sticking her tongue out in irritation; it had not been the first time this had happened today.

She blearily focused on the patchy yellow paint of the chicken that graced the centre of the compass points. _A chicken…of course it's a chicken. _With a snort she let her eyes sweep out over Whiterun, chin resting on her crossed arms as she leant on the shabby fence that bordered Jorrvaskr off from the rest of the city.

_Carpenters these people ain't. _She picked at the hodgepodge thatching absentmindedly, she'd have to ask Eorlund for some help in repairing it. Gods knew she'd patched up her fair share of fences back at home. Abruptly her fingers paused in their unravelling of the strands and her eyes widened in shock.

_Home, where was home? _Thaylen hadn't been on her farm for, what was it, a month? A month and a half? _She couldn't even remember, how sad was that_? The healthy wind played with her hair, tugging the black strands from her lazy ponytail. Her turnips would be well past rotting point by now, who knows; maybe a family had taken her land.

Ah, family, at least she didn't have to worry about that. Being an only child did have its perks but also a bitter downside. Once her parents had departed this world the unmarried Thaylen had found herself alone, with a bustling farm to take care of.

_Not that it mattered; _she'd hired a few farmhands and got straight to work. That was how it had gone, day in day out, tend the crops, chase the chickens, harvest the crops, chase the chickens, sell the crops, kill the chi-

"Hey grumpyguts! You ready?" She smiled before turning around with an outraged glare.

"I _was_ waiting for your lazy arse you know!" Farkas grinned at her response.

"Well then, I'll promise not to go too hard on you today," he laughed, then coughed, "Talos knows you'll need it."

Thaylen punched him in the arm and had to hop around for a minute until the pain went away.

"Argh, whatever, let's get this over with." She stormed off to the training ground, Farkas dawdling after her.

The weathervane settled at the east.

* * *

><p><strong>FLASHBACK <strong>

_It was howling again. _

_Her stomach coiled in on itself as she realised that she was back in that bloody forest. Noticing she was lying on the ground, Thaylen hastily got to her feet. Her eyes flitted around the area but found no trace of her deranged dance partner. The clearing was empty and the howl was fading into the distance. _

_It was deathly cold and as Thaylen rubbed at her arms she felt a warm wetness. Peeling her left hand back she was shocked to discover thick blood coating her fingers. She checked her arm but there was no wound to be seen. Her head was pounding from pain but caused by what, she didn't know. _

_The trees seemed to sigh as a light breeze rustled their branches; the ghostly touch of light fingertips ran down the back of her neck. Thaylen froze, whirling around to see a silvery aura slowly skulking from the forest._

* * *

><p>Vilkas tried to put Thaylen down as gently as possible but couldn't stop her head from thudding ungracefully against the ground.<p>

"Shit." He muttered, guiltily checking to see if she'd stirred but the woman was silent.

He figured that they had only been in the cave for a few hours at the most; the sky was just beginning to darken. He checked Thaylen again, ensuring that the makeshift bandage he'd made for her right arm was still in place. _To think she was practically unmarked when she came to us,_ he gave a derisive snort before turning back to the entrance of the cave. He had a promise to keep.

The elopers where still where they'd left them. Cruelly displayed for all eyes to see, it was a wonder someone hadn't eradicated those vampires already. Nose wrinkling at the all too powerful stench of blood, Vilkas managed to pull the man from the spike he'd been impaled on. He set him on the ground, not minding the gore that covered his hands.

Next came the woman, he plucked what arrows he could from her before laying her next to the man. He stood back and observed them, the bodies looked pitifully small in the lengthening shadows and Vilkas noticed that their eyes where still wide open. Disturbed, he knelt to close them and almost laughed at the irony.

It was strange, he thought, to be killed by one kind of monster and buried by another.

* * *

><p><em>The silver aura's entrance was somewhat ruined by Thaylen flinching wildly and grasping her head in one hand.<em>

"_Ow, shit!" she hissed, for a second she'd been certain that somewhere her head had hit something. _

_The aura seemed to hesitate, as if it wasn't quite sure how to react to the random outburst, before it drew itself together and formed a solid figure. Thaylen squinted at it in confusion, not sure whether she should either run away from it or towards it. The light grew brighter, causing her to cover her eyes in an attempt to protect them from the harsh glow. After a moments silence she hesitantly opened them. _

_She stiffened in shock when her eyes adjusted enough to notice the man standing opposite her. Flat silver eyes stuck to hers, they seemed to pierce through them to her brain, sifting through her private thoughts. Thaylen didn't like it. It was practically one step away from rape in her opinion. She could feel it there, unwelcome, in her head, probing her mind._

"_Stop that." The words cracked like a whip and she stood stock still, mortified at what had escaped her lips. _

"_Hmph." Was all the reply she got._

_Hmph, hmph?! Hmph was not what you expected from your everyday mystical being, hmph was the reply you got from an irritated jackass (see appendix A: Vilkas). Thaylen narrowed her eyes at the man, still cautious enough not to completely drop her guard but just wondering exactly how she managed to attract all of the uptight, surly know-it-all's in this shitty country. The air around the man distorted for a second and before Thaylen could blink, he was barely a pace away from her. The Nord automatically tried to back away but found that she could not move an inch. _

"_I'd introduce myself but I'd daresay we've already…met." The silver man tilted his head to the side, regarding her like a dog does a particularly tasty treat._

* * *

><p>A small yip made Vilkas's head shoot up from where he was currently thigh deep in freshly turned soil. He glanced around in confusion before spotting the source of the noise. Thaylen appeared to be halfway through some sort of nightmare and was currently tossing and turning on the spot where he'd laid her down. <em>Bloody crazy woman, the idiot dreams like a dog for Talos's sake. <em>As he watched, she writhed violently to one side, hitting her forehead once _again_ on the ground.

He could have laughed.

* * *

><p>"<em>What?" Though her brain had been screaming at her to 'act intellectual' the unintelligent exclamation had still slipped her lips. The man leered.<em>

"_Before, in the cave? Sorry if I handled you a bit…roughly, it was all in your best interests," the grin was reaching 'skooma overdose' proportions, "trust me."_

_Thaylen decided that she wasn't going to trust him. _

_The cave, the bandits, the vampires….THE VAMPIRES. She shuddered, remembering those terrifying red eyes and those teeth. Thaylen had been especially alarmed by the teeth. Her hand slew the monster but it wasn't her controlling it._

"_You. You did that? Why? Why save me?" she sputtered. _

"_You've been providing a certain sense of entertainment to an otherwise dull life dear," his voice was distorted, deep one word, high the next and sometimes in languages that she knew she shouldn't understand but somehow could, "See, they were trying to take you away….you're __**mine."**_

_As the last word fell from his lips the howling was back full force. It pushed its way through her ears and into her brain, so forceful that she could taste it. Adrenaline pumped through her veins with no place to go, wind blew through her fur and she was running, running with her packmates beside her. The scent of blood was on the air and in their minds, until it consumed them. Somewhere a woman screamed and kept screaming, her voice weaving through the howl. And through it all the moon was shining, shining until-_

"_GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" her shriek was so loud that the man actually stepped back. Thaylen clutched at her ears, feeling the blood that coated them. She glared at him with all the fury she could muster, green eyes hot and angry. For once not afraid. _

"_I don't know who you think you are but if you screw with my mind again, I'll- I'll…" in a rush the adrenaline left her, leaving her shivering and sweaty. The silver man placed his hand on her forehead forming a hot pressure until she was afraid he'd burn through her very skin._

"_Save your fury child, you will need it to survive in this life," soft, so soft was his voice now, it was fading too, Thaylen's eyesight wavered and grew fuzzy around the edges, "you will come to me soon but for now, sleep and rise again,"_

_He said something else but the blackness pulled her down._

* * *

><p>Thaylen jerked upright with a gasp. In her dazed state she managed to focus on three things. One, that it was no longer daytime. Two, that her whole body felt like it had been run over by a carriage which had then reversed over her again. And finally, that possibly the last person she wanted to see right now was waving his hand in front of her face.<p>

"Vilkas, what…." She felt incredibly groggy; his image kept slipping from her vision, so she scrunched her eyes up and focused on the blackness. Soon she found herself drifting off, sinking into the comforting silence. A hand on her shoulder shook her roughly, making her head lance with pain. She growled in discomfort but the shaking continued.

'_ARGH, WHAT DO YOU WANT!?"_ Her eyes flew open and focused irritably on his face. He sat back on his haunches, staring at her with a pensive gaze. He was a bit scruffy looking, she realised, like he'd just been in a fight.

_Oh, right. _

_Duh._

She saw his expression change as the understanding must have shown on her face. He looked…relieved, uncertain?_ Strange_, she thought, rubbing her right arm absentmindedly. Slowly, she removed her hand and stared at her fingers, unable to shake off the nagging feeling that something was amiss. The quick intake of breath from Vilkas made her jump.

"What?" she asked. He was beginning to worry her; for once he hadn't even opened his mouth to drop some disparaging comment or another. He didn't seem to hear her question though, blue eyes staying focused on her arm. Thaylen lifted it up and gave it a cursory examination which yielded no results. As always, her right arm was pure flesh and bone; apart from a few bruises here and there it remained unblemished.

"Vilkas? You're kinda giving me the creeps here…" an uneasy laugh bubbled to her lips. His shoulders jolted at her words

"Never mind," he muttered, abruptly standing up and moving away, leaving a disgruntled Thaylen on the ground.

"Such a gentleman _you _are," she grumbled to herself, "why yes Thaylen how about I help you to your feet, oh, you're tired? Here I'll piggy back you all the way back to Whiterun considering it's _MY_ fault we got lost in the first place," she pulled herself up, dusting off her clothes as she did so and went to follow Vilkas, still continuing her one sided tirade. "Wow, you look like _shit_! Why don't you lay and rest awhile, after all it's not like_ I've_ been doing anything usefu-!"

_WHUMP._

The Nord managed to pull off a five star trip. Arms flailing she crunched into the ground face first.

"Ack, what….oh." she turned over angrily to see what had tripped her but quickly shut her mouth at the sight of two freshly packed mounds of earth.

"Here, carry this." Her wide eyed stare was interrupted by Vilkas chucking her pack in her face. She rose to her feet once more, giving him a guilty look from the corner of her eye but he was busy scouting out the track.

"Uh, how about we take the main path this time?" she hesitantly pointed out the cobblestones that peered out around the corner. He gave her a nod, shouldering his pack he moved off with long enough strides that she had to jog to catch up. The jingle of coins gave her a moment's pause. With a frown she fished around in her pockets, coming up with a small orange coin purse. She stared at it for a while, before catching up with Vilkas.

"That was some vampire eh?" she said absentmindedly, running the coarse cloth through her fingers. She sensed rather than saw Vilkas study her carefully.

"Yes." His voice was hesitant.

"I mean sure, it was freaky but not as scary as I'd thought one would be," she threw the purse up in the air and caught it, the noise of gold was satisfying to say the least, "I mean all I had to do was distract it with the apple while you turned it into a Nosferatu kebab."

"Hm, that was some quick thinking," he gave her a small smile, "good job." Thaylen couldn't stop the grin from stealing across her face.

"Hah! So you admit it, I'm actually useful for something!" she paused, unsure whether she'd just ridiculed herself or not.

"Taking pot-shots at creatures of the night with apples? I suppose you do make for good_ bait_." This time he gave a full-fledged grin at the look on her face and dodged her incoming elbow to the ribs.

"Hmph," she growled, "it's a real pity we couldn't find any way deeper into the cavern though," she tossed the purse once more but this time missing it as it came back down. She crouched to pick it up, muttering as she did so, "ah well, at least I've finally got some mone- _VILKAS LOOK OUT!"_

He'd been staring at her with a shocked expression and didn't have enough time to doge as a ball of black fur and slavering teeth barrelled into his side.

"Son of a bitch!" he screeched, foregoing his broadsword and instead reaching for his dagger as the wolf pushed him to the ground.

"Sneaky buggers didn't even bother howling!" from the sounds of it, Thaylen was busy with her own attacker.

The wolf snapped at him but Vilkas grabbed it by the throat before it could munch on his face. Not wasting any time he sank his dagger to the hilt in its neck. Yellow eyes stared into his own until the life faded from them. He grimaced in sympathy as its blood coated his fingers.

_Sorry brother._

He pushed the body off of him, yanked his blade from its neck and quickly looked to see what Thaylen was up to. _Talos grant me patience. _His brows furrowed at the sight of his apprentice frantically dodging the wolves increasingly close lunges at her legs.

"Oh bloody hell, would you stop being such a wuss and hit it!" She gave him an incredulous look before dancing backwards, out of the wolves range once more. At least she's gotten faster, he observed.

"WHAT?!" she shrieked and he gave her a silencing glare before sitting down on a nearby boulder to watch.

"We don't have all day you know." He called with a smirk. He could practically hear her teeth grinding together.

She evaded one last lunge from the mutt and drew her sword. Her right side was turned to Vilkas and he gave a small exclamation of surprise. Re-branded into her skin of her arm was the tattoo, deer, wolf and all. Eyes pinned to her movements he observed that nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary, nothing different from her actions in the cave.

Snarling, the wolf prepared a final leap but Thaylen brought her sword down. Point first it crunched into the beasts skull, abruptly halting its ascent. _Lucky swing, _Vilkas grumbled to himself, eyes still fixed on the tattoo. He blinked as the ink began to fade, almost _retreating _into the woman's skin. He blinked again, he'd have to go through some of the old tomes Kodlak had stored away when they got back and find out what this really meant.

"I could have died while you sat on your arse!" he looked up to see Thaylen struggling to yank her sword from the wolf; finally succeeding she turned to him, pulling a face at the gore dripping from its surface.

"Big deal." Vilkas muttered, not bothering with the glare she gave him.

_So she doesn't remember the other vampires and obviously has no idea about the tattoo. _He watched her as she did a less than perfect attempt to clean her sword on the wolfs fur. Apparently satisfied, the black haired woman tried to sheathe it, missed completely and had to hold onto the scabbard to ensure it worked the second time. He covered his face with his hand.

_I need a drink… _

**FLASHBACK END**

* * *

><p>Thaylen parried Farkas's sword as it came across in a sideswipe. The shock travelled up her arm as always but she found herself pleased that she didn't drop her sword.<p>

"Good!" he bellowed before hacking at her twice as fast so she had to hop back to avoid his blow.

Setting her jaw and stepping forward Thaylen threw out a few jabs, managing to catch her opponent on the thigh before his sword came back to attempt bashing the crap out of her. The two moved around the training yard, surefooted on the sandy ground. Their blades met and parted, sometimes barely touching one another other times pushing back and forth, locked together for a while.

With a lightning fast twist Farkas parried her uppercut and launched a blow at her chest. Eyes widening Thaylen desperately brought her blade around to meet his…and caught it under the cross guard. Grinning in joy she twisted her blade and sent his spinning from his hand. Farkas completely stopped, teeth flashing in a wolfish smile. Thaylen acted likewise, having finally managed to disarm someone.

"Oh hell yes!" she screeched, causing Farkas to cover his ears. She quietened down quickly; her friend seemed to have very sensitive ears. He trundled over to his sword and picked it up before resuming his stance.

"This means I can go all out on you now right?" his eyes flashed.

"Hell y-_WHAT. _NO." she backed up quickly, she'd barely touched him as he was holding back. If he went all out she'd be a pile of mush on the pavement, and he wasn't even fighting with his broadsword!

"Looking good Giant Slayer!" Thaylen turned to see Aela and Vilkas approaching from the Skyforge. Vilkas shouldered his newly sharpened broadsword, while Aela was carting a new quiver of arrows. She also held something smaller in her hand, which she tossed to Thaylen.

"Here, catch," Thaylen fumbled for it having to drop her training sword to do so, she saw Vilkas raise an eyebrow but he made no comment, "Eorlund said to give it to you."

"Hey, my knife-dagger-thing!" she turned it over in her hands, the cold steel pressing into her flesh.

The hilt had been rebound with black leather and the blade fully replaced with a material far brighter than ordinary steel. She gave a grin, moving to sheathe it but realising at the last minute that she didn't exactly have a scabbard on. Her mouth twitched at the sound of Farkas's badly supressed laughter and Vilkas gave a tired sigh.

"Uh…I better go… say thanks." She dashed off, leaving Aela watching her with raised eyebrows.

"Seems she's finally coming into her own," She observed, "she managed to disarm you Farkas." That made the nord stop chuckling.

"Hey, I was making it easier for her you know." He gave the huntress a wounded look.

"Yeah but you've been swinging a sword around since you could hold one." She pointed out.

"True…what do you think Vilkas? You reckon she's ready?" he nudged his twin, who'd been testing the edge of his sword with a finger. He looked up at the question.

"I'd give her a week or so." he said curtly before moving off to Jorrvaskr.

"Stingy bugger." Farkas muttered, not without affection. Aela laughed before throwing an arm around his shoulders as they followed Vilkas, making more joking comments about the surly twin's demeanour.

"Are you two belittling Vilkas without me?" Thaylen grinned as she joined her arm through Aela's, "You know it's my favourite pastime." The three laughed as one as they reached the oaken doors that led to a warm fire and food…only to see it held open by Vilkas. He looked at them with a stony expression.

"You lot are far too loud."

"Oh shut up, you enjoy the attention." Aela poked her tongue at the Nord. His eyes widened at the huntresses uncharacteristic behaviour before he pointed an accusing finger at Thaylen.

"You. Are a bad influence." He said gravely but his eyes were light.

Thaylen made a rude gesture as the doors closed, muting the laughter that came from within.

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><p><strong>A.N: ASDFGHJKL ARGHH I'm so sorry, really this took way too long to write! It's been what, two months since I last updated? Dear god I suck at this :P Well, anyway school kinda ran me over in a semi-trailer with a shit tonne of assignments and then the dreaded BLOCK EXAMS all this week and the next. But seeing as I only spend about two hours each day at school for that I told myself I was updating this week.<strong>

**So I did!**

**This chapter was hell for me, it's all over the place but I no longer care, just glad that it's out of the way.**

**Also, yes Nosferatu. How the hell would Thaylen know about that? Well….the Companions totally have a flat screen TV hidden somewhere in their big upside down boat thing…yeah.**

**So, anyway I apologise beforehand for any crappy dialogue and/ or punctuation and spelling.**

**Replies to reviews **

**KrystylSky: Ahh, thank you^^ As you can see I totally took the cheap way out from that one… ehehehehehe don't hate me ;)**

**Lalala: Thank you! I've been trying really hard to keep Thaylen out of Mary Sue territory so if she starys be sure to whack me over the head :L As for the amount of reviews, I don't really mind that much, it's just nice to have people reading my story :)**

**Tinkies: Much appreciated! Great to know you like my description :) Hope you keep enjoying it ^^**

**Twiranux: Wow, gee thanks ^^ I never thought people would like this so much ^^ Thanks again :)**

**Spica Celeste: ASDFGHJKL I love, massive reviews! This is great, you're great, it's all great :D I already sent you a reply (which I promise to start doing with everyone now) but thanks again ^^**

**Lyfed: ahahaha yes, the chickens. I'm trying to mention them in every chapter from now on. Just so as they're always there, annoying the crap out of Thaylen :)**

**Well that was a garbled mess :P**

**Enjoy and comment :)**

**Oh wait before I forget**

**IMPORTANT NOTE ON WEREWOLVES:**

**When a werewolf is put under considerable negative stress (grief, anger) its emotions can take over its body and put it under another change. The longer a person has been infected, the easier and quicker the changes become, but negative changes are always considerably more painful than normal ones. The first change for a werewolf is always the hardest, bones snapping and reforming everywhere but they get progressively less painful until one can do so without even flinching.**

**I'm stressing in this fic that the werewolfism is a disease that's linked very closely to feelings and emotions. So while Farkas is the bigger of the twins, he has a very laid back personality (in my fic anyway) so Vilkas is the more dangerous of the two because of his mental state of health.**

**Cover page © The-Lazy-artist on deviantart**


	11. Bloody Tunnels

_He that increases wisdom increases sorrow._

_~ Assassins Creed_

The stone block tunnel was silent, shadows cast exaggerated forms on the walls. The air felt damp against her skin, the unwanted smell of cabbage that had far surpassed its longevity twisted up her nostrils, being sure to hit all the sensitive spots on its way. Still, she remained quiet for if she so much as squeaked, her life was forfeit.

She was stuck in an incredibly tense situation, hers and her comrades lives could very well rest on the decision she had yet to make. Sweat born from anxiety tracked its way through the hairs on the back of her neck. This was a potentially life-changing conundrum.

_Should I go left or right? _

Thaylen's inner voice was repeatedly hitting its head against the wall. The Nord was stuck, standing at an intersection between two branches of what had previously been a straight tunnel. She shifted her weight between both feet continually, until it seemed like she was dancing in place. Not that she could help it, Thaylen was a born fidget, a constant source of exasperation on Vilkas's part. But her mentor wasn't here to wallop her over the head at this current moment. Her fingers toyed with the pommel of her short sword, picking at the leather wrapping around the hilt as she bit her lip anxiously, finally coming to a conclusion.

_There's no other choice, I didn't want to resort to this. _She raised a leather gauntleted arm, finger trembling slightly as she pointed first at the right tunnel and then the left.

"Eenie, meenie, miney-"

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><p>Vilkas gave a sharp grunt as his enemy's blade finally caught him on the hip, not hard enough a blow to penetrate through his plate mail but enough to have an ugly bruise forming tomorrow. The stench of sweat and blood pervaded his sensitive nose, only adding to his frustration. He'd had enough of this. All it took was a timely thrust and his opponent sagged at the knees, his lifeblood spread odd droplets in the dust.<p>

A second foe was on him in an instant, leaving no room for reprieve. He caught the first axe swing on his shield; the second skidded off his helm, leaving a ringing in his ears. Teeth clenched together, he jerked his head forwards sharply, catching the Bosmer straight between his eyes. The elf was sent reeling from the headbutt and Vilkas followed through, bashing him in the chin with his shield. He had no time to pause, pivoting to parry an oncoming Khajiit's dagger thrust.

Under his assailants arm he saw Aela darting under the heavy blows of a hulking Redguard. It was only so long before one of them landed. He flinched backwards as the Khajiit's dagger flashed towards his eyes, catching him on the cheek. He snarled, teeth sharpening momentarily to match the yellow eyed cat opposite him.

"Dog's gonna die tonight." The Khajiit hissed malevolently.

Vilkas was silent. His blade swept up and under the Khajiit's outstretched arm, catching him straight in the chest. As yet another body sank to the ground yet another Silver Hand charged up the steps and took its place. It was a never ending cycle. Vilkas didn't want to admit it but they needed help. No matter what intrepid form 'help' came in. He bared his teeth as his blade caught his opponents axe.

_Where in Oblivion was the whelp?_

* * *

><p><em>Should've taken the right.<em>

All she'd gotten from the left tunnel was a migraine and a dead end. She leant against the wall, avoiding the worst of the slime. That fork had had absolutely _no_ purpose other than to screw her over.

Thaylen sighed, worried that Vilkas and Aela had traversed too far into the fort for her to catch up, or worse that they'd got sick of waiting and left. That sounded like something her grouchy mentor would do. She exhaled through her nose, trying to calm herself down, trying to think.

Something wet fell on her cheek.

_Oh come on. _Hoping to Oblivion that it wasn't something noxious she swiped the back of her hand across her face. Her knuckles came back red. _Blood. _

Thaylen craned her neck upwards and another drop fell down the back of her neck. She spotted what must have been an old entrance to the tunnels; it had been crudely boarded over, leaving large gaps through which sparse light flickered. Large enough gaps for blood to be trickling. Apprehension raced through her veins, who knew what was up there? There could be killer rats, a giant barbarian of a warrior, even a troll for all she knew.

Or it could be her companions.

For once she didn't hesitate, only checking to make sure all her weapons where secure before she bunched up her legs and leapt for the ragged stones around the hole. The fingers of one hand bit into the rock while the other struggled to push the wooden slats out of her way. She managed to punch one out before she lost her purchase and landed on her arse.

Grumbling to herself the black haired Nord readied herself to leap again, not noticing the sudden cease of noise from above, which had been considerably muffled by the stone walls of the tunnel.

* * *

><p>All eyes in the room where glued onto the piece of timber that seemed to have by its own volition, flown up and clattered noisily to the floor. Silence reigned supreme, all ears craned, all eyes narrowed and in one case, a tongue slithered out and tasted the air.<p>

Vilkas had paused halfway crouched under his shield, prepared for an axe blow that seemed to have forgotten halfway through its swing exactly what it was doing. Though every instinct was screaming at him to snap upright and clock the Argonian in the face with his shield the Nord forced himself to straighten slowly, an opportunity had been presented and he intended to take it. He readied his sword.

However, he faltered as yet another wooden plank flew up and rattled on the stone floor. His heightened hearing could pick up the scrabble of feet and a muffled curse. Finally a hand appeared on the lip of the stone hole. One shared glance across the room with Aela confirmed his suspicions.

_He honestly needed to get Thaylen to work on her timing._

* * *

><p>With some considerable effort Thaylen managed to haul herself high enough that she could throw a leg up and over the lip of the hole. With a noise akin to that of an irritated cat she finally manoeuvred herself out of the tunnels, collapsing on her back next to the hole.<p>

There was a very deliberate cough. Thaylen momentarily forgot to breath.

With agility that surprised not only herself but the many occupants of the room, the Nord flipped herself to her feet and scrambled to a wall. She pressed herself so hard into it that it seemed she was determined to become one with the stone. The entire room seemed to be frozen mid battle, all eyes were fastened on her. The majority of faces began to cloud over as they realised that they'd never seen this woman before. The atmosphere was quickly turning less than friendly. Thaylen's eyes roamed over Aela's brown ones before locking onto the narrowed icy blue pair at the other side of the room.

Vilkas managed to convey '_don't screw this up'_ through the power of his gaze alone.

She gave a thumbs up to that by unsheathing her sword in, for once, a single fluid motion. That movement was all it took for the room to erupt into frenzied action once more. She saw her mentor plunge his blade into an Argonian's side before her vision was obscured by something lithe and furry. A Khajiit, female and fast, worryingly so. But the one thing Thaylen had ever had going in her favour was her own speed so her blade locked with the cats. For a while they pushed at each other, trying to see whose strength was greater. In the end they sprung apart, evenly matched. Green eyes locked onto green.

Thaylen made the first move, the Silver Hand swung her blade around to meet and the two were off, locked in combat. Surrounded by a flurry of steel, they looked to be evenly matched but Thaylen could see that the cats form was shoddy. It was only a matter of time before a hole opened in its defences and when it did, Thaylen's blade was there, sliding into the deadly area between the armpit and the collarbone. The Khajiit's hiss turned into a gurgle and she fell to the ground in a heap of fur. Thaylen paused for a moment as the fighting continued around her, in deep contemplation. Another life had been ended by her hand, no more would this evil creature pillage and murder. _Whoa, whoa, getting a bit depressing there girl, keep yourself togeth-_

The Breton caught her around the waist in a first class tackle.

The breath was expelled from her lungs, cutting short the various curses that would usually have spewed forth. She gasped frantically for air that never came, her assailants hands closed around her throat. The Nord kicked out desperately, trying her best to fling him off, but he was too heavy. Kneeing him in the back wasn't an option; it'd likely snap her legs off. One hand scrabbled at the dirt, the others nails dug into the Bretons arm. That was when she remembered the dagger strapped to her thigh.

Painfully slow, her free hand inched down her leg, just barely managing to slide the thing from its sheathe. Spots that weren't quite black but weren't exactly white either obscured her vision. She stuck the blade in his forearm and he rolled off her with a garbled shriek. Sweet air rushed into her lungs as she rolled several times to the side before using the wall to pull herself up. The Breton was on his haunches, pulling her knife from his forearm inch by inch.

"It's much easier if you do it in one go. Like ripping of a bandage." She quipped.

He jerked his head up, teeth halfway bared in a snarl before her knee slammed into his head. Rubbing her throat, the slight woman plucked her knife from the offending limb before wiping it clean on the Breton's pants. Thaylen, grinning, whirled around, light headed from a mixture of success and near asphyxiation, ready to show off her efforts. The grin slid from her face.

"Sometimes I can't _believe_ you two." Her accusatory tone fell on deaf ears.

Vilkas and Aela sat on the chests of their latest kills, surrounded by what looked like half a garrison worth of bodies. The Huntress looked up from where she was adding various arrows to her quiver.

"Eh, you had him. Though if you'd _actually_ forgotten how to get out of a choke hold I would have had to kill you myself." She gave a quick grin.

Thaylen smiled uncertainly at that, the woman barely joked around. Vilkas stood up, sheathing his sword across his back.

"You _did_ take a fair while down there whelp. Get ambushed or something? Stopped off at some underground inn perhaps?" He smirked.

"If only…" she mumbled, hopefully not loud enough for him to hear.

Vilkas nudged her Breton with his foot, eyes brightening when the prone figure groaned. Aela seemed to be at his side in an instant and Thaylen was, not for the first time, left in awe of how smoothly The Huntress moved. Come to think of it, both her companions were looking slightly different tonight, there was something more sharp about their features. The way the shadows fell on them made them seem almost…supernatural.

"Excellent, he's still kicking." Aela knelt by the man, digging her nails into the gaping hole in his arm. He woke with a scream.

Thaylen winced in sympathy but the action made her neck throb. The pity promptly evaporated. Aela leaned in closer to the Silver Hand, baring her teeth in what could have resembled a grin but seemed to sway more towards slasher smile.

"Where is it?" The Huntress gave deadly inflection to each syllable.

The Breton groaned, head lolling to one side. Thaylen could see his eyes cross and uncross, she knew the feeling well. Aela was having none of this however, and probed his wound again. Another scream, Thaylen shifted her weight slightly. There was another furiously whispered threat from Aela that she didn't quite catch, the sickening squelch of torn flesh, another whimper of pain. Thaylen's eyes gradually lifted from the scene to where the wall met the ceiling, a sick feeling hollowed out her stomach. Her ears slowly closed to the same insistent question, the frantic replies of 'I don't know, I don't know, I don't know'.

_Where is it?_

_Where is it?_

_Where?_

The howl was rising.

"Thaylen." Vilkas's voice cut through her misted thoughts.

She jerked her head around to him, starting slightly at what the shadows had done to his face. Narrowed, gaunt, strange, dangerous. Vilkas visibly faltered at her expression and she hurriedly composed herself. His eyes were bright, so unnaturally bright, melting ice. More screams from the Breton.

"You should wait outside." His voice was gentle but Thaylen was already shaking her head.

She forced her eyes to harden, to stare him down, don't blink, don't blink. After what seemed an age Vilkas set his mouth in a grim line and gave a short nod. Eye's fastened back onto the cracks in the stone as she felt him shift slightly closer behind her. Somehow this made her feel better.

Her ears wouldn't shut out the sounds now.

...

They got back to Whiterun just as the first fingers of dawn clutched at the horizon. Thaylen craned her neck to see the first halo of pink touch Dragonstone's peak. Her head was fuzzy; the trio had been walking uninterrupted since late in the night, the full moon the only witness to their march. Vilkas and Aela had been highly strung the whole trip back, Thaylen had wisely kept her mouth shut. The pink was deepening into a burnt orange as they passed the stables. A horse stirred in its stall, a flock of birds flew overhead. Her eyelids sank lower and lower. A small nudge in the small of her back from Aela started her shambling steps again.

"Nearly home Giant Slayer." Aela smiled but Thaylen snorted, her companions seemed to have endless stamina, while she would have a hard time dragging herself across the ground at this point.

She wished she had wings, yeah, then she'd float over the lands with no need for this walking business. The people would be ants, the cities their hills and she would be the bird above. A giant, no, a dragon. Something in the back of her mind winced at the word but she was too tired to really care.

The gates.

The streets.

Jorrvaskr.

Home.

Bed.

* * *

><p>The Breton lay among the chaos in the room, his throat cut, another body added to the multitudes. He had not revealed the location of the fragment. The mission had failed.<p>

* * *

><p>The day before<p>

"_And you're absolutely sure about this?" Vilkas was standing, palms flat on Kodlak's desk, eyes fastened on the man sitting behind it. _

"_Absolutely, we're so close this time. I can feel it. After the attack on Torvar and Athis they must know that we're closing the gap on it each day." The old man was resolute; this trip would end their search for the last fragment. _

"_But this isn't snooping around in the dark anymore; you're talking about a flat out raid on one of their bases!" Vilkas's tone was more than slightly accusing but also smug. After all this was what he'd wanted; it was about time the Companions had got back some of their own. _

"_Yes. And I want you and Aela to do it." Kodlak pushed his chair back and stood up, brushing past the younger man to pace the study behind him. Vilkas swallowed all his questions but one, he knew this was hard on the Harbinger; the man had never liked unnecessary violence._

"_And somehow you think that possessing all the fragments will help break the curse?" Though he tried to smother it he could feel the brief spark of kindle in his chest. Kodlak nodded, his grey hair moving across his shoulders. _

"_I can't know for certain, but there's no denying this feeling. Something must happen of it, the dreams…" Kodlak dragged his fingers along the many dusty tomes on his shelves, seemingly picking one at random, "I want you to take the Newblood with you, Thaylen. It's about time she was exposed to our enemies."_

"_There's a great risk of her finding out if we do." Vilkas warned, gut tightening slightly. Her first reaction to a werewolf hadn't been pretty. Not that he'd helped with that. Kodlak looked him in the eye._

"_Regardless, I'm sure you can find some way to limit her interaction with them. I'm not entirely sure whether most of the Silver Hand themselves know what we are. Their higher ups do for sure but the knowledge of such readily available power would not suit the mindless masses," a shadow passed over his elders face, "There's something about Thaylen, somehow she is connected to all this, the time of her coming and the tales of dragons returning once more to Skyrim."_

_Vilkas nodded, he had heard plenty of these stories. Wild tales of a dragon attacking Helgen, travellers in Whiterun swearing that they'd witnessed it with their own eyes, Khajiit caravans advising others to stay well clear from the smouldering ruin. There were whispers of some mysterious stranger approaching the Jarl with the news, requesting help for Riverwood. The stories intrigued him; dragons lay at the very ancient history of this land. Farkas had wondered what it would be like to fight one. For once Vilkas had not shared his brothers enthusiasm, from what he'd heard of Helgen there where very few survivors. He opened his mouth to ask another question but Kodlak seemed to be immersed in his book already._

"_It will be done." Vilkas inclined his head respectfully and left his leader to his thoughts._

_..._

_He found Thaylen stuffing her face with food next to the fire pit. Vilkas could see where his strict regime was paying off, the woman had lost the slight roundness to her features, her arms were no longer soft and the food which she so loved was burned off within the hour. He waited for her to recognise his presence at her shoulder, watching a scar on her cheek flex as she chewed. Finally she stiffened up._

"_Hello Vilkas." She mumbled through a mouthful of bread. He was impressed; she hadn't even turned around this time._

"_Kodlak wants you to accompany Aela and me on a mission." He sat himself in a chair beside her. _

"_Please tell me this isn't going to like the last one where we trekked through a waist high snow storm and ended up on the wrong side of the mountain." Her voice was deadpan but she gave him a quick grin before biting into an apple._

"_No, nothing like that, that was my brothers fault, not mine." He winced at how childish the words sounded._

"_Whatever helps you sleep at night." Thaylen laughed, green eyes smiling._

"_We're to take down a Silver Hand base and see if they have any knowledge to where the last fragment of Wuuthrad lies." He knew what the question was going to be before it left the woman's lips._

"_What's a Wuuthrad?" She asked through a mouthful of food._

_Vilkas just gave her a look._

"_I seem to recall telling you our entire history the first night you stumbled into this place whelp." He watched as she made a helpless gesture._

"_Yeah, well I was under the effects of a healing potion, they always make me sleepy." She said lamely. He snorted in disbelief._

"_Well make sure it sinks into that miniscule space between your ears this time." _

_And she did._

* * *

><p>Present time<p>

_There was a new nightmare tonight. _

_There was no howl. There was no faceless dance partner. There was no noise. There was no colour. _

_There was only the twisted king on his throne._

_He sat slouched, the very picture of a regal ruler. His hands curled over the arm rests of his chair of bones. Their stark whiteness blinded her as she stood before him. He wore a simple breaches and shirt combination, the only expensive thing in the outfit was his boots. Made of the finest leather, intricate patterns adorned his shins. Her eyes roamed up his figure to his head, which was definitely not human. The big stags eyes blinked dolefully at her, the antlers which crested his twitching ears seemed to extend to the stars. _

_As she watched he raised a hand, the other gripping harder the wolf skull beneath it, fingers curling into the eye sockets. He pointed directly at her. His mouth shaped a word but there was no sound in this dream and she shrugged, unable to hear it. Angry, he tried again but with no success. _

_That was when something grabbed her ankle._

_Startled, she glanced down, only to scream silently in horror. The tortured Breton was clutching her foot, eyes wide, throat wound seeping blood. She tried to kick him off but he dragged her down until his mouth was at her ear. Struggling wildly she felt his breaths stir her hair as she frantically tried to glance at the king once more._

_But he was gone. _

Thaylen lurched upright in bed, clutching her head in her hands. These dreams, these nightmares, they weren't stopping. Night in and night out they plagued her. Always there was that man, that king, in various shapes and forms he'd come to her but she'd felt the same presence under each charade. Taking deep breathes to calm herself down, the black haired woman swung her legs out from the confines of her sheets. At least she wasn't falling out of bed anymore. The only bed that had been occupied was hers so Thaylen guessed that it was midday or late afternoon. She rose and struggled into her breeches, before tugging her boots on over them. Today she had her own mission, if these nightmares weren't going to leave her alone she was going to make them leave the only way she knew how.

By drowning them in alcohol.

She raked her hands through her hair twice before giving up. Almost as an afterthought, she grabbed her dagger before leaving, strapping it to her waist. Last but not least she crawled under her bed frame and prised a slightly dusty coin purse from between the slats. It never stood to be too careful.

Before she left she made the bed, she'd never had a maid like the old lady Tilma to do it for her before. Old habits die hard and all that.

...

The sun seemed intent on searing her eyeballs from her skull as she shuffled through the panicky streets. What the people were panicking about exactly she didn't know. She didn't particularly care either, as long as whatever is was presented no immediate danger to herself. Somewhere a woman was crying hysterically, a group of guards tramped past. Whispers of the Western Watchtower being destroyed reached her ears. Thaylen shut them all out, they weren't her problem, not yet anyway, and she was Oblivion bent on 'The Bannered Mare'.

Finally, she squeezed through the crowds and into the inn. There was no bard today; in fact, there was not much of anybody today. That suited Thaylen just fine, the less people here to observe her inevitable drunken ramblings the better. The innkeeper looked up, eyes brightening as they landed upon a new customer.

"What can I get for you today?" the red haired Nord leaned her elbows on the counter.

"As much mead as this can buy, keep 'em coming please." Thaylen dropped her coin purse on the wood. It gave a satisfying clink.

"Rough night?" The barkeep inquired, brow creasing in sympathy. Thaylen almost laughed.

"Like you wouldn't believe."

...

She was halfway through her second drink as the customers began to drift back to the booze and warmth of the Mare. Their conversation was loud, excited, with undertones of worry. Thaylen blocked it all out as she sat at the bar, she seemed to have a knack for that. The afternoon sun shone through the windows. Thaylen tended to drink slowly when alone; her eyes stared broodingly at her glass. She paid no attention when the door opened once more, no attention as all conversation abruptly ceased. She didn't even look up when someone lifted themselves into the seat next to her. Faintly she heard them ordering food and drink.

Thaylen only fully registered the stranger's presence when the smell hit her. Burning hair, smouldering clothes and smoke in general. It wasn't the generic smoke either, she'd only smelt this stuff once before in her life. Flashes of Helgen penetrated her mind, the dragon was swooping overhead and the town was ablaze once more. Grimly, the black haired Nord downed the rest of her mead in one go, putting the empty glass on the table with a loud clunk. The figure next to her slowly turned in her direction. Finally Thaylen turned her head.

"You!?"

* * *

><p><strong>Oh god I am so sorry I haven't updated in an AGE but I honestly have reasons. A tonne of shit has been going down IRL for the past few months. There's been funerals and exams at school and Christmas. Finally, things came to a head a few days ago where me and the family had to come back early from camping because a bunch of shitheads decided it was fun to break into our house. They took some stuff, among which was my Xbox, and, most sadly, Skyrim itself. Sooo, that sucked but on a happier note it's given me more time to finish this :L Just in case I need to clarify, a the lines that separate some sections indicate a change of perspective while the four dots indicate a time lapse, that's what I'll be doing from now on ^^<strong>

**Once again I can't stress to you enough how important it is for you to read XDropbearX's story about the dragon born of this universe. Here's the link to it so pleaseeeee check it out, shes my first reviewer and in my favourite authors if you want to find her. Her story is The Strings Attached. :) **

**I'm pretty sure that I've replied to all your reviews in PM but since a guest left one I'll do it here.**

**Guest: Thanks for reading! I'll definitely go through the earlier chapters later on today and root out all these inconsistencies. Thanks for pointing them out! I think I avoided them so far in this chapter :)**

**Cover Image (c) **The-Lazy-artist on deviantart****


	12. I must give my bloody farewell

**Hey guys, I'm afraid I have to announce that I won't be continuing this story anytime soon. To be honest this was my first foray into Fanfiction at all, and I bit off rather more than I could chew. Thaylen's story, though incredibly fun to write, has been poorly planned and what with the conflict of final school years and all, I've found relatively little time to properly work on it ^^**

**So rather than just ditch it without an explanation I'd like to thank all you guys for your comments, critiques and follows they've really helped and I've taken them all to heart. Thank you so much for taking the time to read my rambles, it's been a fun ride, definitely a learning experience ^^**

**Maybe one day I'll return to Thaylen with an actual plot, but for now she'll be existing with her buddies in my headspace, and her gameplay file.**

* * *

><p><strong>Much love- AtomicVegemite<strong>


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